Fleeting Eternity Part 1
by EinsteinHawking
Summary: To everyone at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy hate each other. But if that's really the case why are they meeting up in secret? What happens when other residents start to notice? And will Harry ever find out himself? Slight AU, 1-4.
1. Diamonds and Toads

**Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing fan-fiction for something I owned, now would I? **

**A/N: Frequently changes between Hermione and Draco's POV. **

**Based mostly on the films because although I've read the books, I don't have them and I have a terrible memory. I have also changed a fair few things, like for instance Luna Lovegood is in the same year as Harry and the others and Draco isn't particularly fond of Pansy Parkinson for the first few years. And I've changed the order certain scenes happen in, simply because I liked them but they wouldn't fit with my story otherwise. **

* * *

**Year One: Hermione Granger Has Come to Hogwarts**

Chapter 1

Diamonds and Toads

Hermione Granger couldn't help but smile to herself as she sat in her seat on the Hogwarts express, smoothing down her new school uniform, which consisted of a simple white shirt, grey jumper, black skirt and black robes, finished off with grey knee high socks and polished black shoes, regardless of the bushy light brown hair she was plagued with -that protested and fought a hard battle against every brush or comb her muggle mother owned- she felt exceptional. She was brimming with pride as she thought of herself a childhood Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey was a pretty, intelligent, kind girl who grew up to be one of the most admired women in Hollywood of that era and that is who Hermione Granger wanted to be, she would be the brightest witch of her time, she would be an icon of the magical world, everyone would know her name, everyone would love her.

She knew Hogwarts would be a new start for her, unlike the monstrous girls in her old school, or the ridiculous, immature boys, the people here would be nice, friendly children and teachers she could get along with, it was a world where anything was possible, why not a happy ending for everyone? The boy Neville seemed nice, he asked her politely to help look for his missing toad and thanked her profusely when she agreed to do so, although she was sure anyone else would have done the same, despite his claims otherwise. Being as bossy as she was, she suggested they split up, he would look around the bottom half of the train, she would take to the top half, she asked everyone from a girl named Katie Bell, to a boy Zacharias Smith, to that oddball Luna Lovegood, who from her serene sing-song voice, sounded a tad mental, although she seemed happy to be that way. She continued to make her way through the aisle of the train, sliding open the doors to matter-of-factly ask had they seen the toad, before closing it and moving on, she never had had much patience and her excitement over her new-found magic abilities made her even more eager to find the thing so A; people would recognise her as the girl who found the lost toad and B; she could once again sit with a smile on her face as she studied numerous books on what other's found tedious spells and charms. It wasn't all selfish though, she did like the boy and she did want to help.

Neville stood less than twenty feet away from her now, both nearly at the end of their search, surely _someone_ must have seen the tiny amphibian? She closed her eyes, trying to smooth out the gentle creases in her forehead as she frowned, how could it not be here? Had it gone missing before? Had it jumped out before Neville even got on the train and he'd just not noticed? It seemed possible, even highly likely considering how fidgety the boy was, he was probably so preoccupied with his nerves he hadn't realised.

Either way she assured herself she had looked everywhere, mentally going over every detail, no, it wasn't her fault, she hadn't missed one spot, she took a deep, calming breath, then opened another door. Inside sat three boys and a girl, the first boy was rather stocky, quite tall for his age too, with curly brown hair, the girl was slender, petite, with short black hair cut into a bob, she was rather pretty too, her eyes twinkled, though not with something that looked all that pleasant to be honest. Hermione secretly scolded herself for being so judgemental. The other boy was large, like he'd eaten one too many fairy-cakes in his time, with an almost shaved head, finally her eyes settled on the last boy in the room, a flawless pale complexion, the finest shade of porcelain, white-blonde hair sleeked back, a small, angular face, and stormy grey-blue eyes that somehow seemed to pull her towards him, he was so mysterious, so magnetic, that she felt almost flustered in his presence as though he commanded the upmost respect even if he was only eleven.

"And who are you?" he asked, courtly, as if he were a man addressing a potential business partner,

"I'm Hermione Granger." she replied, happy she hadn't stuttered as she stuck out her hand for him to shake, he looked from her face to her outstretched hand, his rain-coloured orbs glancing over to the other three, after a few minutes hesitation he stood, placing his hand in hers, he was shocked to find it was rather nice, it felt even better when she smiled broadly at the contact. His touch was hard and cold but it was also quite lovely, she realised then that he was the finest of diamonds, beautiful, compelling, and something that she felt she had no right to,

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Have any of you seen a toad?" she looked at the blonde boy first, then the others expectantly, the two larger boys shrugged, Draco opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off by the raven-haired girl in the opposing seat,

"Yes. As a matter of fact I'm looking at one right now."

The two larger boys laughed out loud. Hermione was taken aback by the girl's insult, having been bullied in her muggle school she'd had such high hopes this one would be different, those hopes were all crushed however with no more than twelve words,

"Parkinson." Draco sneered, causing the boys to sober up fast, "There's no need to be rude." he plopped down into his own seat, moving his hand to emphasise the vacant space beside him, Hermione would have liked to have talked to the boy, he seemed not only forthcoming and smart but he was also quite good-looking for his age, a perfect triple thread in her eyes, still even without his beautiful face he would still be charming, her eyes darted over to the girl, Parkinson, her name was apparently.

She knew that if she took that seat the girl would make her feel absolutely vile.

"I'll take that as a 'no', then." she twirled, shaking her hair away from her face as if the girl's words had no effect on her whatsoever,

"Where are you going?" Draco's voice sounded like that of a spoilt, demanding child, causing her to think he may be rather unpleasant once you got to know him,

"Oh? Me? I have much more important things to do than to sit here and talk."

"Like look for Longbottom's frog?" the girl rolled her eyes,

"Yes, among other things. And it's a _toad_ by the way, not a frog. Really I would think you would know the difference, but then I doubt even toads would want your company."

With that Hermione left the cabin, slamming the door and leaving an amused Draco and stunned Pansy Parkinson behind, she was immediately ambushed by a stuttering, stammering Neville asking if she'd found anything, she shook her head, giving him a reassuring smile, she told him she was sure they'd find his toad, Hermione wasn't particularly good at lying but then she wasn't really lying either, she was certain they'd find Trevor, she was just equally certain that he wasn't on the train. Still she knew if she told the dark-haired boy that than he'd probably only panic more, which wouldn't do either of them any good.

Instead she made her way further up the aisle and opened another cabin door to reveal two boys sitting alone, one with freckles and a lap full of sweets, the other with dark, messy hair and glasses, both boys were quite average looking, expect the one with glasses had a lightening bolt scar on his forehead. A scar that seemed familiar.

Hermione silently gasped as she remembered something she'd read in a book in Diagon Alley, it was a book on the greatest and most famous witches and wizards of all time, she had been surprised to find a boy named Harry Potter listed, but no picture and very little on who he is other than that he is the only one to have survived a killing curse from a dark lord. The only remnant of the event being a scar exactly like that one. There was no way this boy could be Harry Potter himself, could he? She smiled, deciding that the only way to find out would be to talk to him,

"Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one."


	2. Herbology

Chapter 2

Herbology

Four months ago she found out she was a witch. Now Hermione had met the most famous wizard of all time, Harry Potter, the boy who lived, she might have even said they were friends. Maybe this year would be better than she first thought, she felt dizzy with her newfound optimism, even with that awful Pansy Parkinson's remark on the train –though she had to admit it had hurt, she wasn't that ugly that you could actually call her a toad, was she? Her mother always said she was beautiful, but then all mothers said that to their daughters, didn't they? Hermione had only ever thought of herself as rather passable looking and assumed most other people would too, therefore her mother wasn't really fibbing...just exaggerating _a lot_. She told herself it didn't matter, she would raise above it and try to be civil with Pansy.

By the time the Hogwart's express had arrived it had been nightfall. The castle, which Hermione knew from books was breath-taking, had looked rather eerie against the dark blue of the evening sky, the thick rolls of menacing clouds and the full moon hadn't helped, of course the feeling was purely down to the muggle horror films she'd seen, not that her parents would ever allow her to watch such things if they knew.

She'd spent a vast part of the night sitting on the window seat of her dormitory, wearing a pair of purple striped pyjamas, looking out as the rain began to pelt down against the glass, a book resting on her lap, it was one of her favourites, _Hogwarts, A History_, she had probably read it over eighty times, each time she found something new, each time she remembered something she'd forgotten, each time she would look up and recognise something from the old book and would be in awe of it. Yes, she was quite the bookworm, somewhat a nerd, she found them comforting like her mother did flowers, orchids especially, like her father found -well, working eased his mind. She sighed as she thought of her parents, she would miss them but she loved being at Hogwarts, she had been on the grounds a few measly hours and already she was in love. Closing her book over, she'd hopped off the window seat and climbed into bed, tucking her cold hands under the snug pillow, her eyelids had drooped, slowly becoming heavier until she had forgotten to bother to try and keep them open any longer.

Hermione woke up a little after half eight, everyone else was already up, throwing the duvet aside she crawled out of bed, groggily rubbing her eyes and pulling on her uniform, she hurriedly ran a brush through her hideously messy hair and grabbed her book bag, before running off down to the common room, then finally down the many staircases. It was a quarter to nine, when she suddenly collided with someone in the corridor, she was about to mumble an apology when she realised just who that someone was.

"Granger?" Draco asked in slight surprise,

"Ma…" _pant, pant,_ "Malfoy?"

"What are you doing? Have you only just got up? You're going to be late for class, you know."

She nodded at him between breathless gasps, pushing a mass of frazzled hair out of her eyes,

"I know. Professor Sprout is going to kill me. Or worse...detention."

Draco raised one white-blonde eyebrow at that statement, a smirk playing on his lips, the girl was rather amusing to him, despite every Slytherin telling him to stay away from her, he found himself wanting to know more about her, he'd never heard the name Granger before, and the Malfoy's knew near every magical family there was, she couldn't be a muggleborn, they were ugly, dirty, mule creatures, she wasn't terribly pretty, with her bucked-teeth and bushy hair but she certainly wasn't ugly, he also knew she was very clever too, well, for a girl that is.

"Hope you're not hungry, Granger, because we've got all of ten minutes left to get to the greenhouse." he said as he took her bag from her, which was like a dead weight, it near crushed him as he swung it over his shoulder, "What have you got in there, anyway? The whole library?" he was joking, though he wouldn't be able to blame her if she thought he was just being rude, his inability to change his ever-constant scowl or sarcastic tone often put him on the wrong foot with most people, then again, most people didn't deserve his attention,

"No." she glared, and for a moment he thought he'd offended her, then the glare turned into a grin, "Just one aisle."

"Good one." he replied, laughing, "Have you got your class schedule yet then?"

She looked at him in horror as she realised what she'd forgotten, he smirked, pulling out his own schedule and scribbling over the Slytherin time table, marking down what he assumed was when her classes would start. Hermione rewarded him with a grateful smile.

The two managed to make it to Herbology with only a few minutes to spare, Hermione couldn't help but smile as Draco told her about the mental headcase Emily Talbot who used to fancy Goyle around two years ago, she had not only followed him everywhere but also baked him some fairy cakes induced with a very powerful love potion, unfortunately she was only nine and wasn't the most skilled at making potions, he had fallen in love with everyone he saw to a terrifying extent, apparently he'd chased poor Emily away to France and proposed to Crabbe's cat. Yes. Cat. He even bought a veil and dressed the animal in a much too big bridal gown. Hermione laughed so hard that her stomach hurt.

When they entered the greenhouse everyone was looking at them quizzically, as if they'd grown two heads or a tail and wings, she felt heat creep up to her cheeks as she pulled on the ruddy overcoat and gloves, taking her place beside Harry and Ron, the freckled, auburn-haired boy she'd met on the train who had tried to use a made up spell on his rat, he'd also had dirt on his nose at the time. Neither boys seemed pleased with her joking with Draco, but truthfully he really wasn't as bad as he let people make him out to be, if they gave him a chance they'd probably like him, alright he _had _been rather prejudiced towards Ron, she was certain though that if they just talked they'd likely get on. From their faces though, she could tell it wouldn't be happening anytime soon, Harry was eyeing Draco wearily and Draco was glaring at both him and Ron, who was looking down at the bizarre plant on the table before him, his cheeks as flushed as hers had been when she walked in.

Professor Sprout was rabbiting on about some form of plant vine that intertwines itself around the victim's limbs, it will only let its prey go if they trust the plant enough to relax in its embrace, if not it'll kill them. Devil's Snare, she'd called it as she explained it had a curious dislike for sunlight. The tables in front of them were lined with pots that held the plant, she asked a volunteer to stick their hand in and either relax or use a luminous spell to counterattack, not one student stuck their hand up, whether it was because they were too afraid or merely because the vines looked slimy and disgusting she couldn't tell, because of this the professor was forced to pick someone, she picked Blaise Zabini, a dark-skinned Slytherin who Hermione had never noticed before, the boy was clearly unwilling to reach into the vines from the way he scoffed, rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, he let his hand sink into the Devil's Snare, his wand out, at the ready, the plant latched onto his whole arm, worming its way up to his neck, effectively strangling him, he panicked, Professor Sprout kept telling him to relax, it couldn't hurt him if he didn't let it, but the boy wasn't listening, he was screaming for the thing to get off him which only made it squeeze tighter,

"_Illumious!" _a burst of light erupted from across the room, the plant shrieked, recoiling from Blaise's arm and neck, back into its pot where it withered, the boy was left panting heavily, he stared around at the others, glaring at the person who'd saved him before storming out of the glass room, making the door rattle as he slammed it behind him,

"Oh, dear," Professor Sprout said with only slight concern, "S'pose I best see if he's alright. By the way, well done, Miss Granger! Ten points." with that the plump woman waddled off, Hermione couldn't keep the smile off her face,

"Good thing you know you're spells, Hermione." Harry said, causing her smile to broaden,

"Why? What happened?" Ron asked, now that he was finished picking his nose, a look of annoyance crossed her features when she realised Ron hadn't been paying even the tiniest bit of attention, her head snapped up though when she heard the sardonically slow applause,

"Yeah, very well done...for a toad." came Pansy's shrill voice,

"Really? Parkinson, you're calling her a toad, how can you bare to look at your own reflection?" Draco intervened, causing the raven-haired girl to gawp and pout,

"Malfoy? What are you doin', defendin' Granger?" Crabbe muttered this time, Hermione felt a tentative smile tug at her mouth, as both Harry and Ron watched the scene in bewilderment, that was twice now Draco had stood up for her,

"I'm not! You can't tell me Parkinson isn't annoying."

"Well..." Goyle replied for his counterpart, "yeah, but at least she's not a know-it-all like Granger."

Hermione began twiddling her thumps, feeling embarrassed, her hair covered her face, hiding it from Draco, who was about to open his mouth to defend her again but before he had the chance to form even the first syllable, Professor Sprout was back with a sulking Blaise Zabini. However it didn't stop Draco sending her a secret smile when no-one else was looking, the girl returned the favour happily. They might have been in rival houses, they might have friends that hated one another, they might be on opposing sides of the board, light and darkness, good and bad...but could they not just be Hermione and Draco and forget all the other metaphorical crap for a while at least? Hermione decided there and then that despite what everyone thought she wanted to befriend Draco, after all it wasn't going to kill anyone, now was it?


	3. Not Allowed

Chapter 3 

Not Allowed

Hermione Granger was a mudblood. That's what Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, had told him. At first he didn't believe it, he was convinced his father just didn't want him to have any friends, no-one had liked his father when he was a child hence he must be taking his jealously out on his son, mustn't he? That's what Draco had hoped, he was let down miserably when he found out for himself after eavesdropping on Granger and Potter talking about their muggle lives. How could they be friends now? It was bad enough she wasn't a Slytherin! Now she was a mudblood too? One of those mule creatures? How could she do that to him? She ruined everything! Draco could barely contain his anger when he found out, he could barely contain it now, and it had been nearly a month.

He'd begun avoiding her, he didn't want to, but she was one of those...things that his father had told him were disgusting and undeserving of their magic, he had to agree with the last part, what fool gave them the right to be wizards or witches? As for being disgusting, well, he didn't know anymore, Granger wasn't perfect, but she was by no means repulsive.

_Not on the outside._ He thought bitterly in Potions.

He didn't miss the glances she threw his way, the ones filled with longing and concern, or they would be, could the mudblood feel anything, he made sure she didn't miss the sneers he returned to her, it was like this everyday now, she would attempt to talk to him, to laugh, to joke, to do all the things they would have done as friends had she not ruined it, and, other than the occasional glares he sent, he would pretend she didn't even exist. He couldn't honestly say he didn't feel guilty about it, he couldn't honestly say he knew _how_ _it felt_ to feel guilty, but whatever emotion he felt towards her was a painful one, he hated seeing the crestfallen look on her face when he refused to acknowledge her, which only made him more angry, _she_ was the mudblood, _she_ was the one who spoilt everything, _she_ was the one who ought to feel like this, not him! It was a vicious circle of guilt, anger, hate, guilt, and anger again. Draco didn't know whether he was coming or going, he was failing at subjects he knew well for someone his age, leading to Granger getting top marks, he dreaded returning home, know full well his father would beat him with the cane for letting a mudblood surpass him. He'd be treated almost as badly as a house elf if he kept this up, and with good reason too.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something white fly at him, the neatly folded piece of paper landed on his desk, he looked around to find the culprit, no-one seemed out of place, everyone had their heads over their books, taking notes, his scowl deepened as he unfolded it.

_What's wrong with you? You've been absolutely horrid to me for nearly a month now! The very least you could do is tell me why you're acting like I've got the blooming plague! _

She didn't leave her name. He didn't need her too. She was obviously angry with him though she had no right to be, she was the one who'd lied, waltzing into his cabin on the train like she was so innocent. Ha! Innocent? Not bloody likely. He'd seen werewolves that were more innocent than her, alright he'd only seen them in books and they weren't depicted quite like that, still the point was that Granger was far from the angel she'd led everyone to believe she was on their first day. She had some nerve to say that the least _he_ could do was give her a reason why he was acting the way he was, she should've known, besides he was not the bad one here.

Growling, he tore a piece of paper out of his notebook and began writing furiously, when he was finished he looked at his handiwork.

_What? Our very own Know-It-All Granger hasn't figured it out yet. Are you that thick? _

Yes. That should irritate her as much as she was irritating him. Scrunching up the note, he tossed it at her, the faintest smile graced her lips as she opened it out, probably thinking he was willing to talk to her again, then it vanished, replaced by an angry, hurt frown as she read his words, she picked up her quill and began writing, her hand moving across the paper so roughly he thought it might tear. When she was finished she threw her work at him.

The square of parchment landed on his desk.

_Clearly you're not who I thought you were. Don't worry, I'll not bother you again!_

Oh, now she has crossed the line. How dare she point fingers at him? Draco Malfoy? Irate, he stabbed his quill into the ink pot, causing black droplets to fall onto the page, obscuring some of what was already written there, and destroying his own flawless script.

_I'm not who you thought I was? Well, if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is. _

Her cheeks were pink with rage as she read his reply, her left hand balled into a fist, her breathing heavy, her jaw set with arrogant determination as she continued to write with her hand trembling in pure annoyance, this time she scrunched the note up into a tiny, stiff ball, and threw it hard in his direction, hitting him on the head. Luckily for her Snape had his back to the class.

_What's that supposed to mean? _

Suddenly Draco felt numb as his hand moved across the paper to write that awful eight letter word, it was like an out of body experience, he knew what he was doing, he knew it would destroy any chance of friendship he had with her, but he couldn't stop himself, he was so angry that she'd lied to him, so terrified of what his father would think if they were to become friends, so tired of tip-toeing around the subject.

_Mudblood. _

He watched in horror at what he'd done, her lean, delicate fingers began to open the note, he wanted to yell at her, to beg her not to read it, to tell her he didn't mean it, that he didn't care, he just couldn't find his voice, his throat was far to dry for anything to come out anyway, it was as if he were Petrified, and in a way he was, he didn't want to see her reaction, knowing he'd hurt her, still he couldn't tear his eyes away, his chest was tight, his stomach in knots, like one of those horrendous spells to cough up slugs, he couldn't breath right, his palms were sweating, he needed to either get of there or get his note back, but he was too late. He his head in his arms shamefully, and upon hearing her small intake of breath, risked a peek, he saw her lower lip jittering and a single tear roll down her cheek, she roughly wiped it away with the back of her hand and let the note fall to the floor, turning back to her work. He rested his head in his arms again, groaning silently. It took all his strength to look up and pretend to listen to Professor Snape droning on and on and on. Granger would hate him now, forever. He knew there had been nothing worse than calling her a mudblood.

Draco stood, weakly, and collected his books, his skin paler than usual and his limbs seeming not to work properly, by the time it took him to simply get his things, Granger was out the door, pushing past him. Leaving a painful tingling sensation on the entire right side of his body.


	4. Astronomy Tower

Chapter 4 

Astronomy Tower

Draco Malfoy needed time alone. Away from Crabbe, Goyle and the blasted awful Parkinson. He needed to think, he didn't want to, he just knew it had to be done, he would have to clear his head of the muddled, chaotic thoughts of a certain mudblood that had haunted him since Potions that afternoon, he wished he hadn't replied to her note, he wished he hadn't seen the pained look on her face as she read that word, that hideous, awful, dirty word that for some unforgivable reason she was associated with, he wished he didn't care what she was associated with, but it wasn't that easy.

His father and mother had taught him the importance of blood purity, he understood it all too well, he had believed in it, not because they wanted him to, because it made sense, muggle-borns, or even half-bloods for that matter, had no right to their magic, why should they be treated as equals when they were clearly of no such thing? In fact he doubted most mudbloods were magical at all, it could easily have been a trick. He believed every word his father had said about mudbloods being scum, he never needed evidence, the appalled, repulsed tone in his father's voice was evidence enough for the eleven year old boy.

Then Hermione Granger came along and messed it all up, he'd actually felt like he had a friend for the first few days here at Hogwart's, oh, he didn't mean the likes of those two fools that followed him around, gladly beating up anyone who he thought needed to be taught a lesson, he meant a real friend, the type of person who gave a damn, who knew him better than he did himself, who would do anything for him through admiration and not fear –Draco could be rather honourable at times, a trait that made him feel sick to his stomach when he was reminded he possessed it.

He made his way up the stairs, through the corridors, past the North Tower where the third years were taught Divination by that crazy old hag, past the east wing and on to the Astronomy Tower, he pushed open the door to hear a girl sniffling, as if she were crying. _Marvellous! Another moaning Myrtle. _He almost said it out loud but decided against the idea, if this girl was anything like Myrtle than he oughtn't get on her bad side, silently he made his way over to the noise, she was talking to herself whoever she was, something about a boy…for the love of Merlin, was this all Hogwarts could offer him? Pathetic girls in need of therapy? Really, he was a Malfoy for crying out loud, he was better than this, he would torment her until she ran out, probably in tears, and he would again have the peace and quiet to think. And not about Granger. He would not taint his reputation for her.

"Get out." the hoarse voice came from the darkness of the tower, it was one he was painfully familiar with,

"Granger...?" he ventured into the light, finally able to see her face, she had obviously been crying for some time, though he hadn't thought his words would have ever had this effect on her,

"Forgive if I'm wrong," he flinched as the harshness of her tone, "but am I not_ Mudblood_ to you now?"

He swallowed hard, not sure what to say, they couldn't be friends, she must have known that by now, no doubt Potty and that Oaf have told her time and time again that he was a no-good Slytherin. Despite his head telling him to turn around and leave, his limbs refused, instead he sat down next to her, feeling a pang of hurt when she scooted away slightly,

"It's not just that." he spoke before he'd thought about what he was saying,

"Oh?" her head snapped round to face him, wrongfully thinking he meant he had other names to call her, "Then I take it you've added more vile words to your vocabulary, have you?"

He looked at her, brows furrowed, mouth hanging open in shock, before the realisation dawned and he understood,

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it." he half-glared, "What I meant was that you being a mudblood isn't the only reason we can't be friends."

"Clearly." she stood, "You're far too foul for anyone to want to be friends with you!"

"Me? _Me?_ You get on everyone's nerves! Even perfect Harry Potter doesn't like you!"

"I hate you, Draco Malfoy! You're the most awful, most horrible boy I've ever had the misfortune to meet!"

"And you're the most irritating know-it-all mudblood I've ever met!"

The two children stood there for a moment, faces pink from yelling at one another, moments passed, neither moved, until Draco gave in and slumped to the ground again, staring out at the stars, he could see the constellations Hydra, the snake, and Pegasus, the horse, the night sky was beautiful, he'd never admit it out loud to anyone but even he couldn't help feel the pull of those twinkling diamonds. Or maybe it was just that they looked expensive and unobtainable.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, not sure she could hear, whether she had or not didn't change the fact that she sat down next to him, her anger easing away, albeit slowly, "How can we be friends? I'm the epitome of what Slytherin ought to be and you're not even close! I'm a pureblood and you're a mudblood! I'm Malfoy and you're a nobody!" he gave an apologetic look, "My father would kill me if he knew."

"I doubt he'd kill you, he might be mad, hardly anyone would like it but they'd have to get used to it." she reasoned,

"You don't know my father. He hates mudbl...people like you."

There was silence for a minute, looking at her now, the midnight blue of the sky lighting up her features, he really did want to be friends with her, he'd felt a pull towards her on the train, then he could hardly control his satisfied smirk while in Herbology, regardless of the fact that both Crabbe and Goyle were watching him, he really did like Granger,

"They don't have to know." came her soft voice, dragging him away from his pessimistic thoughts, his expression one of bewilderment,

"It's not going to work. If you haven't noticed I have a reputation to uphold as the nastiest kid at Hogwarts."

"And I have a reputation to uphold as the bookworm that nobody likes." she countered, "Nothing has to change, Malfoy."

Suddenly he grasped the meaning of what it was she delicately implied, she smiled half-heartedly and he couldn't understand why, it made him slightly angry to see her smile and have to wonder was he the reason for it or was it something else.

"You want me to torment you in front of everyone and then what? We meet up here to _chat_?"

"We'll be friends. No-one will know, we'll _act_ like we hate each other for their benefit. That's all."

He stared at her, processing what she'd just said, how was it possible to torment someone and yet be their friend? No, Crabbe and Goyle didn't count. He ridiculed them and they hung around because they wanted to be associated with the power that came with being a Malfoy, they were never his friends. In fact, there wasn't anyone he'd consider a real friend.

"But...won't it hurt your," he cleared his throat, wrinkling his nose in distaste of the word, "feelings?"

"Occasionally it might." she nodded, "But if you don't mean it then I'll have no choice but to forgive you, won't I?" she smiled as she said that.

Draco was uncertain, still he nodded as well despite this, sticking out his hand to shake on it,

"Promise you won't be mad when I have to pretend I hate you? I am, after all, a very good actor, Granger."

She laughed at that last part, sticking her own hand out to take his, not yet shaking it though,

"Promise we'll always be friends even if we are too different?"

He smirked and nodded, they shook on it, both smiling, eyes twinkling with mischief, this, they knew, would be interesting, they would be getting their cake, and eating it too when no-one was looking. Suddenly they heard footsteps followed by muffled voices outside the door, it was McGonagall and Filch, they had to get back to their dorms quickly, it was already after ten, if the professor and that deranged keeper learnt that they were out of bed at this hour…they'd have detention, then it would get back to his father, who would ask why it was he was wandering around at night with a mudblood.

Draco grabbed her hand, pulling her into the darkest part of the tower, away from McGonagall and Filch's approaching steps as they entered the room, both children remained unspeaking, satisfied that nothing was out of order as Filch must have claimed, McGonagall left the tower with the creepy-looking man, locking the door behind her. Draco made his way over to the door, pulling at the lock to no avail, they were trapped, Granger however seemed unfazed, was she mad? They'd be here forever! Or worse until the third years arrived and found them, together, talking like friends! Ugh. Not to mention they'd get that detention he was thinking about earlier and they'd lose house points and he'd probably never get on the Slytherin Quidditch team for associating with a mudblood!

"We can't get out!" he panicked, Hermione seemed to be thinking about something, then her face lit up and she rolled her eyes as she made her way over to him, taking her wand out of her robes, aiming the long wooden piece at the now very much locked door,

"_Alohomora." w_ith the tiny swish of her wand the door was unlocked, she gave him an self-applauding smirk, similar to his own, they made their way out into the hall, keeping their eyes peeled for professors, prefects, _anyone_, when they could see no-one coming they began walking, past the North Tower, through more corridors, down the stairs, until they reached another hall, on the right was her common, on the left was his, they stood there, unmoving, neither one wanting to leave the other, Draco did something then that shocked the both of them. He took her hand in his and ran his small yet slender pale fingers over her equally small knuckles, he was consumed by the softness of her skin, by the flawlessness of the roses and cream complexion, so different from his deathly ghost-like one, it was only when he glanced up that he realised what he was doing, upon meeting each other's eyes they snatched their hands away, Granger mumbled a goodbye and turned on her heel to leave, but Draco couldn't let her go just yet and grabbed her arm, pulling her back, her eyes showed too much white,

"Did you mean it...that we'll always be friends?" he asked, suddenly sombre, "I've never had a friend before and I can't say I'd be a very good one either."

"Of course we'll always be friends! I'd even take the Unbreakable Vow to prove it!"

_The Unbreakable Vow...? _Draco thought, not believing his ears, taking the Unbreakable Vow and not keeping your word would mean death. She was _that_ confident that their newfound friendship would last that long? Forever? He smiled brightly as she walked down the corridor and he headed back to his own common room.

Aspiring Death Eater like his daddy, Draco Malfoy, and mudblood, Hermione Granger, were friends. How had it happened? Why had it happened? He couldn't begin to fathom, however he knew two things for certain.

Firstly, he liked it, and secondly, he would never tell anyone of his secret.


	5. The Troll

Chapter 5 

The Troll

She let out a breath of relief. _Finally._She thought now that she'd gotten away from the prying eyes of Harry, Ron, and Professor McGonagall, she didn't need them staring at her as if she were trying to commit suicide, really, of all things, it was preposterous, she had far too much to live for, it wasn't her fault she had been in the wrong place –namely, the girls' bathroom- at the wrong time, she'd have thought they'd have had more sense than to think she'd have wandered in there hoping to get crushed to death by a giant troll. Or at least she'd have expected such sense from Professor McGonagall and Harry, Ron…well, she could forgive his ignorance, never mind the fact that he'd been the reason she'd gone in there anyway. That boy had a knack for putting his foot in his mouth, he also had a knack for talking too loudly about her behind her back. Chivalry, what chivalry? Ron had beaten it to death with his pathetic excuse for a broom.

Of course she wasn't perfect, no-one was, but to talk about her as if...as if she were the worse to be around than that ghastly Pansy Parkinson, as if she were more loopy than Loopy Luna Lovegood, as if she were utterly horrid. She had merely tried to explain to Ron the difference between _Leviosa_ and _Levi-o-sar_, saying the incantation wrong would do him no good, she'd only been trying to help yet that was justification enough for him to voice his opinion on why she didn't have any friends, she'd been about to open her mouth to correct him, Draco was her friend, a much better one than either Ron or Harry she might add, then she remembered their promise on the Astronomy Tower, besides no-one would believe her, least of all someone as dim-witted as him!

She ignored the stares from the other students as she passed them in the hall, jutting her chin out in pride, not that she had anything to be proud of, it was mainly Harry –alright, and Ron- who stopped the troll before it had a chance to kill them all, it was a reflex of hers, whenever she received unwanted attention, she turned into a bit of a snob, snubbing everyone's whispers, avoiding they're darting gazes as if she were above them, in a way she was, she certainly would have more decorum then to stand, staring dumbly at someone, or even talk about them in hushed tones. Something she and Ron apparently agreed on although for very different reasons.

"Oi! Mudblood. You're looking a bit rough, what happened? Flying lessons _-again_?"

Hermione turned around to find a group of Slytherin girls laughing at her, tugging at her dirty robes,

"Ha-ha! Her filthy muggle parents can't even afford decent robes!" one snickered, she had ash blonde hair and a long pointed face, with a slightly crooked nose and huge green eyes, she was pretty in an unusual way,

"Pathetic!" Millicent Bulstrode, an unattractive bulky, boyish girl spat,

"Don't touch it! Raina! You might catch something." Pansy snapped at the blonde, pushing through the ever-growing crowd of girls in silver and green, Hermione stood there, a frown on her face, not sure what to make of the sudden event, "What's wrong, _Mudblood?_ Cat got your tongue?"

She snorted, "Hardly. I'd just rather not waste my intelligence on the likes of you." books pressed to her chest, as if it could somehow protect her, she turned to leave,

"Heard about that troll," the blonde –Raina called after her, "poor thing mustn't have had a meal in months. Imagine being that hungry that you actually try to eat an ugly li-"

"I bet the troll felt like the most beautiful thing in the world next to her." Pansy cut her off, Millicent made a grunt of agreement, and Hermione had had enough, first with Ron, then with the troll, now Pansy-Bloody-Parkinson and her little club? What was this? Friday the thirteenth? She stomped back over to the group of girls, much to their amusement,

"You know what?" she said, jabbing a finger at Pansy, "I don't care what you or anyone thinks of me! Because people like you don't matter to anyone but themselves!"

"Parkinson!" a rough, musical voice barked, their heads jolted up to meet the owner of that voice, not that they needed to see his face to know it was him, Hermione felt a mix of apprehension and relief at his hard, cold gaze, there was the tiniest amount of joy slipping through as he stared back at her, but then the joy evaporated the moment he remembered Pansy,

"What are you doing?" he demanded to know,

"Oh? Didn't you hear?Granger was attacked by that troll." she replied, blatantly feigning innocent concern to the point of sarcasm.

Draco glanced at the bookworm on his right and she knew that her robes were a tattered, dusty state, her hair more wayward than usual, she was trying to reassure him with her eyes, failing miserably at it too, she could tell he wanted to ask if she was alright, he very nearly did so but managed to stop himself in time, turning his attention back to Pansy to glare at her,

"And you think I care, why?"

Pansy shrugged, her arms crossed over her chest,

"I found it rather amusing. Though it would've been better had the thing actually done some damage."

Hermione glared at the raven-haired girl, who returned the favour, with her zombies and Draco's goons both backing her up, Draco, however, didn't look as pleased as most people would expect him to be, earning himself a warning look from Hermione, he rolled his eyes at her, suppressing a growl,

"I have to agree. Nothing like watching a mudblood getting eaten by a troll to give you a laugh."

This was it then. Hermione supposed. This was what they would do in front of others, fire insults at one another. Draco hadn't been lying that night a few weeks ago when he said he was a good actor, she would've felt hurt by his harsh words had she not been reminding herself it meant nothing,

"Nothing like watching a Malfoy get turned down to be friends with Harry Potter."

"Don't talk to me; your breath reeks like a house-elf's rags."

They all laughed in unison, Hermione set her jaw, this time when she turned to leave, she didn't come back.

* * *

Draco didn't see her until their joined History of Magic class that afternoon when he was forced to be partners with her, they exchanged a glare as Zabini watched them suspiciously, she took her seat beside him without a word, opening her book and listening intently to that agonisingly boring Professor Binns, taking notes, flipping through her textbook, nodding in agreement at certain things, eagerly raising her hand to answer near enough every question, the list went on and on. It was as though her whole existence was to absorb as much knowledge as she possibly could.

"Granger?" he whispered, she looked up, "You know I didn't mean any of that, don't you?"

"I know."

"You aren't mad?" he asked in disbelief,

"Not at you." she said, nodding in Pansy Parkinson's direction, he followed her line of sight and found the raven-haired girl giggling with Raina Van Hegna two rows back, he ground his teeth as it was obvious they were laughing at Granger, noticing his stares, Parkinson gave him a sympathetic look, while Van Hegna made silent gestures that told him if she were in his position she would kill herself, he turned away from the two girls and back to Granger, who once again had her head down, scribbling something in her book, why did it feel like every lesson held more interest for her than his presence did?

"What happened with the troll? You weren't hurt, were you?"

She shook her head, not missing the unease in his voice,

"No. Harry and Ron were there."

He wrinkled his nose in distaste, just like he had on the tower,

"_Where_ were you anyway?" he asked, "Trolls don't often wander the halls."

"I was in the girls' bathroom cryi- I don't know how it got there."

There was silence between the two for a second, at first he didn't notice the slip, then he looked up again, a scowl on his face, a deeper one that is, considering he usually wore that scowl,

"Why were you crying?" he said, avoiding her, he began to draw their professor on the bottom of his notebook, getting dragged away by a griffin, the man who normally made him want to die with his tedious lectures, but this time Draco wasn't really listening to the professor, he was too busy trying to control his anger that someone had made Granger cry.

"What's with all blasted questions?" she prepositioned, to which he only gave her a confused look, she said it like he was prying.

Draco Malfoy didn't pry because he didn't care, but where Granger was concerned it was clear he did, even if he denied it,

"What are you talking about?"

"That's six now." she crossed a line on her notebook, apparently she was keeping count of the questions, writing down the numbers in Roman numerals,

"Alright, fine! But you haven't ans-"

"Ah, yes. Miss Granger." the ghost professor pointed to her, Draco hadn't even noticed she'd raised her hand,

"Alderan Fearwood Eckard wasn't really a goblin at all. He was a Durmstrang criminal who used a Polyjuice Potion in order to steal from Gringotts."

"Very good, Miss Granger, very well read indeed! Ten points." Professor Binns, who rarely smiles attempted to do so just that once, he turned his back to them to write on the blackboard,

"Now will you tell me why you were crying in the girl's bathroom?" Draco asked, Granger crossed out another line, seven, read the foreign numbers, "That doesn't count!" he growled, grabbing his quill and scribbling out the number,

"Malfoy! Get off!" she hissed, pushing his arm away,

"Can anyone tell me what Mr. Eckard's punishment for his misdeeds was exactly?" Professor Binns had turned to see the two arguing about something, he knew they wouldn't get on, but it gave him a little kick to see the pair fighting, and after all they were his best students, "How about you, Mr. Malfoy?" he stopped right in front of their table, the pair ceased to bicker, with Granger looking pointedly out the window and Draco rolling his eyes,

"Fourteen years in Azkaban." the blonde boy grumbled,

"That's a hard punishment for petty theft, is it not?"

"Actually, Professor," Draco drawled, "the man attacked a goblin that threatened to out him. If I'm correct, which I always am, then the goblin was badly injured."

"Excellent. Ten points."

"Now look who's the know-it-all." she muttered, clearly annoyed,

"Shove off, Granger." he replied, getting back to work when he remembered something, "You still haven't told me what it was you were crying over."

She let out a frustrated sigh,

"Fine. I give up. I was upset because Ron had been talking about me behind my back and to Harry of all people!"

His pearly blue eyes got darker, his frown more pronounced,

"That oaf? Ha! The only reason Potty tolerates him is because he feels bad for him." he threw a sneer in the two boys' direction, "Besides what could he possibly have to say about you behind your back?"

He caught the smile that graced her lips at the defensive tone his voice had taken, scribbling out another two lines, yes, apparently it had turned into a game of questions,

"He said I'm bossy and it's no wonder I don't have any friends." she stated, too nonchalantly for his liking, Draco was holding his quill so tightly that practically all the feathers had fallen off,

"You have me." he said, hoping to cheer her up, though it was marred by the death-glares he had aimed at Harry and Ron,

"I know." she gave him a tentative smile, trying to hide it from the rest of the class, noticing Parkinson and Van Hegna staring at them, he ignored Granger, but when she looked down she saw he'd drawn a smiling pixie on his notebook.

Suddenly something cold and wet hit caught his back and Granger let out a yelp, soon after Professor Binns' goblet fell to the floor with a _clunk_, its former contents now drenching Granger's robes and some of Draco's, though not half as much as hers,

"Who did that?" the professor demanded, looking at everyone in the room, "Answer me! Or I'll take five points from each of you!" no-one answered, everyone just looked around the room, some glaring, other looking confused, and the rest snickering, Professor Binns took five points from everyone except Granger, and allowed her to leave early to change. Draco watched her apologetically as she packed her books away, she gave him another small smile before heading for the door, only to be tripped up by Parkinson's foot, causing her to fall on her face, her books going everywhere,

"I was doing you a favour, Mudblood," he heard Parkinson whisper, "really, it's called a bath. I can hardly breathe in here. Not that I'd want to inhale your germs!"

Granger got to her feet before Professor Binns noticed anything being out of order, she bent down to collect her books, but Draco beat her to it, she looked up and he caught the surprise etched on her face, his pale hand already picking the books up for her, he didn't need to see everyone else's faces to know they were equally shocked, once he was done, Draco, with a disgusted look plastered on his face, shoved the books at her,

"Here!" he watched her features contort in confusion and genuine shock "What?" he demanded, "I'm only doing this to earn my house points back. Don't get used to it, Mudblood!" with that he stalked off in a sulk and took his seat.

Draco glanced over his shoulder to see the door close behind the girl's exit. It was then he saw the devilish grins between Parkinson and Van Hegna. Parkinson even had the nerve to wink at him. After what she'd done. He was going to make her life well worse than Potter's, there was only one person allowed to torment Hermione Granger and that was him.


	6. Le Misanthrope

Chapter 6

Le Misanthrope

It was a week until Christmas. The castle and its grounds were covered in a thick layer of crisp, white snow, trees adorned with enchanted candles and sparkling gold baubles had been put up in celebration of the holiday, the halls were lined with decorative wreaths of holly and frosted berries, the choir sang their festive songs, everyone's spirit had been lifted as their favourite day neared. Hermione was looking forward to seeing her parents, mind you she found the idea of talking to her former friends rather daunting, they would only end up asking what school it was she went to, why her parents would send her to a boarding school of all places, was there any boy's she fancied. She didn't like their questions, it meant she had to lie to them, she didn't like lying to people she cared about, not to mention she'd made new friends, Harry, Ron, Luna..._Draco_, and she felt as though she were trading one set of friends who understood her for another who didn't.

There was a nostalgic, fervent tension that lingered like perfume in the school, no doubt the other students felt as she did, a longing to see the people they missed and a reluctance to leave behind the ones they would miss. It was a measly two weeks. Very little time really when she'd spent a good three months with her friends and professors, but there was one boy that made it particularly hard to leave Hogwarts.

One with whom she'd had to exchange presents with in secret. She'd saved up all her pocket money her parents' sent her over the past four months to get Draco an expensive wizards chess set made entirely of frosted glass, the box it came in was black polished wood with the Slytherin crest and her nickname for him, _Hydrus_, engraved into it in silver, inside the box was lined with green felt with a note thanking him for being such a great friend. The blonde had been ecstatic when he opened it last week on top of the Astronomy Tower with her, it was his own set, he would no longer have to use his father's. He had also gotten her a fantastic gift, she felt it was much better than the one she'd given him; a solid gold bracelet with a little charms such as a cat with tiny real diamonds for eyes, a wizard's hat and a book locket charm with the words _Brightest Witch of All Time_ written on the tiny parchment inside. She had worn it everyday since, she'd even shown it to Harry and Ron, who seemed more than a little discontent not knowing who bought it for her, she was quite upset she couldn't tell him, it would certainly have shut them up when they talked bad about Draco.

She could hardly focus on her book, _Le Misanthrope _by Jean Baptiste Poquelin, a humorous tale about status and love. It was one of her favourites, about a young man named Alcest who was disliked by many for his criticism and his disregard for social etiquette, then he falls in love with Celimene, a woman who he loathes for her unbendable belief in status and her vanity. Hermione had read it more than thirteen times, each time hoping that either Celimene would realise Alcest loves her and forget about everything else or that Alcest would move on without her and have a happy ending of his own, neither of those things happened. Alcest's honestly wrongly landed him in exile and while he proposed to Celimene, she refused him. Each time she had read the words and felt terrible for Alcest, he had loved her but could never be with her, as people like them just 'weren't meant to be', she had wandered what it would be like to be unable to show you cared for someone simply because others thought they weren't right for you. Now she knew all too well. Of course she didn't love Draco, they were friends, still she felt she could relate to Alcest more now than ever before, just like him she had never fit in with anyone, and just like him she cared for someone she shouldn't, someone she should have loathed, someone she wasn't supposed to be friends with.

Someone who had been standing over her for sometime as she at on one of the many stone benches outside the castle, reading the book, she had been too lost in though to notice his presence until he snatched it out of her hands,

"What's this, Granger?" he asked, in a bad tone, though there was no-one there to put on an act for, he was merely mucking around,

"It's a book, Malfoy. _My_ book. Now give it back!" she reached for it, but he held it above his head,

"Make me!" he opened the book out, still holding it high in the icy air and began to read the line, he'd never read this particular book, probably a muggle one, someone named Alcest was speaking.

"_Friends? Friends, you say? Well, cross me off your list." _

A flustered Hermione tried to grab the book off him as he thumped through the pages, his face contorting into an odd expression, did he feel a familiarity to the words such as she did? One beyond just re-reading? Could he see the similarity in their undisclosed friendship and Alcest's and Celimene's relationship based on lies? She hoped not. They were friends, not lovers, the similarity, she insisted, was in her head, nothing less, nothing more. Suddenly Draco closed over the book and handed it to her, taking a seat on the bench, with his arms behind his head, he leaned back against the tree that overshadowed them and shut his eyes, in casual arrogance. Hermione however stuffed her book in the bag she had fastened to the top of her trunk,

"Have you even packed yet?" she asked, noticing his lack of luggage,

"That's what house-elves are for."

She sat down beside him, rigidly, not liking the stares she got from the few students wandering around, she fidgeted with her gloved hands for a minute, risking a glance at his silent unmoving form, much like her he had wrapped up for the winter weather, they were both in their robes, and like her he had on a scarf, while his was green and grey, hers was red and grey, she had added a simple pair of thick woollen tights to warm her legs, while he wore a Russian Cossack hat and black leather gloves, she looked like the typical student getting ready for Christmas break whereas he looked like a child model for _Wizard's Fashion Weekly._ She felt absolutely hideous next to him.

"You oughtn't make house-elves do everything for you. It isn't very nice." she said awkwardly, out of nowhere,

"I have better things to do than pack." he mumbled, not once opening his eyes to look at her,

"Like what?"

His reply was a lazy, half-shrug that explained nothing at all, she hated that he closed his eyes, it was that blue-grey steel that told her what he was thinking, she'd learnt his mouth twitched when he was trying not to say something he knew he'd regret later, often it was something that would make him sound weak, she'd learnt he shuffled his feet around Filch just to annoy him, she'd learnt he liked Bubbling Beetlejuice, which wasn't beetlejuice at all, she'd learnt he had an aversion to dogs, but it was his eyes that told her everything else and to cut her off from that knowledge was truly unfair.

"You are intolerable!" she wasn't sure whether she was more angry he'd ignored her or that hadn't answered her question, "How can you just laze around while that poor house-elf-"

"Granger, enough, alright?" he opened his eyes now, allowing her a peek into his head, "I just…I wanted to…spend some time with you before I left, without having to fight and call you names."

"Oh." she said, pointedly avoiding his gaze, the silence that they were usually comfortable with had become, well, uncomfortable, so much that Draco decided anything was better than nothing,

"That muggle book of yours isn't half bad. Makes sense, some of it."

This didn't help her blush, she shifted nervously, straightening her skirt, playing with her scarf,

"It's really interesting, one of Poquelin's best works, although it wasn't very successful in his time, practically everyone I know has heard of it. It's not like his other plays, the characters are more...dynamic in this one, more real. Alcest is a bit of a pessimist though, don't you think? He not a bad person, just rather moody and Celimene, she's awfully vain, she almost reminds me of you, no offence. I've always wandered what would happen if they'd made it into a film with-" Hermione had started to babble, unaware that Draco had once again closed his eyes, sighing contently with a smirk on his face as she kept talking, soon neither of them could figure out how she'd somehow gotten from the topic of _Le Misanthrope _to Audrey Hepburn – a woman Draco had never heard of- to the lack of books in the library, to Hagrid, to a three-headed-dog named Fluffy, all without any of Draco's input. When he did open his eyes again it was to give her a quizzical look, honestly, his head hurt, he just couldn't keep up with her racing thoughts, she stopped abruptly, realising she'd said too much, her hand flew to her mouth,

"Oh no!" she groaned, he laughed,

"Actually it's rather amusing. Not that you were making any sense."

That made her feel a little better,

"Sorry." she mumbled, the smirk never once left his face,

"You know," he said, remembering her rant, "if you can't find what you're looking for in the library –there's always the restricted section."

She stared at him in awe, a frown forming on her face when she realised she should have thought about that ages ago, he stood, she followed suit, not only did he make her feel as though she looked rubbish, he made her feel like she was a good for nothing idiot! It wasn't fair that he be intelligent, handsome and rich at his age. Really, if there was a God -which she wasn't entirely certain there was- he must bloody well despise her.

"Granger." he said, sticking out his hand,

"Malfoy." she took it and they shook,

"Until after Christmas break, then."

"Hmm."

She watched as he turned around to walk away, possibly to his common room to see if his house-elf had packed for him yet, Hermione sighed as she made her way to the Great Hall. Upon seeing Harry and Ron playing chess, she decided to tell them about the restricted section.

Hermione had spent the past three months either with Draco when no-one was around or bickering with him when they were –he had a foul mouth too, though she had to admit she liked their little spats- what she hated most though, was thinking about him, she had a tendency to over-analyse and confuse herself, Draco was no open book, he was complicated enough without her adding too it, and she just knew the next two weeks her head would be filled with thoughts of him.


	7. Envy

Chapter 7

Envy

Draco was not pleased. In fact he was rather bloody pissed off, firstly Granger was lying to him, secondly she'd run off with Potty practically the moment she got back from Christmas break, thirdly when he tried to get them into trouble for wandering around at night –hoping she'd get the point and stay away from the pathetic orphan and his scummy friend- _he_ ended up being punished. Detention in the Forbidden Forest, the best bloody part was that _he_ was with Potter, God's gift to the wizarding world or so these fools thought, while Granger was with that Oaf and Hagrid, he couldn't say he wasn't worried about her, after all it's not like those two could protect her from anything, the only thing Hagrid was going to do was guard her with his fat arse. If Granger returned with even a scratch he would find away to have Hagrid put in Azkaban forever.

It wasn't his fault, she'd been lying to him, sneaking around with her precious friends, and when he would ask she would get defensive, he knew something was up, so he'd gone to see what was so important she couldn't tell him, he'd followed her and those two pathetic slugs to Hagrid's hut, he'd hid outside behind a tree, then when he was sure they didn't know he was there, he'd made his way up to the window, he'd only been able to make out some of what they were saying, from what he'd understood the Golden Trio thought Professor Snape was trying to steel something, though he had no idea what, Granger, being the clever little witch that she was, had correctly guessed that there were spells and such protecting whatever the thing was, soon after that Hagrid had taken a large egg from a boiling pot, when it hatched there had been a baby dragon inside, the giant fool had been coddling the thing when it let out a breath of fire, burning his beard, Hagrid had been patting out the tiny flames with his gloved hand when he'd noticed Draco peeping in through the window, the Golden Trio turned to look at him, Granger had a horror-filled expression on her face before she quickly looked away, seeming ashamed of herself.

He'd ran and told Professor McGonagall, a dumb thing to do really, she was head of their house, of course she'd find fault in his actions. The three had been walking down the hall talking when he and the professor came out of their office, Potter and the Oaf had been voicing their suspicions on him, while Granger had naively asked if Draco following them had really been that bad, they'd assured her it was very bad but stopped talking suddenly when they noticed the old woman in front of them. She'd greeted the three with a highly disappointed look on her wrinkled features. Draco hadn't missed Granger's angry glare, he'd half-smiled, half-sneered in reply, she had after all been keeping things from him, things Potter was in on.

Granger had stood in between the two boys, her brows furrowed in worry, he had to admit she looked rather pretty when she was worried, while Draco, himself, had stood to her right, leaning against one of desk's in the classroom, a big smug grin plastered on his face, it had all been quite amusing to him, if he'd had the choice Granger wouldn't be here, but then wasn't that the very reason he'd followed them, because she just seemed unable to stay away from the two boys he hated most in this good-for-nothing school? Her mouth had dropped open in shock when Professor McGonagall had stated that fifty points would taken from each of them for wandering the school grounds at such an hour, the smirk didn't leave his face until the old woman had said that the _four_ of them would receive detention. He'd even asked politely if he'd heard her wrong, if he hadn't, then he was sure she'd let him off because he was setting such a good example. Apparently not, as she'd stated he too was wandering around at night, he'd turned to see Granger suppressing a smile at that awful Oaf, causing Draco's glare to darken tremendously.

Afterwards Filch had led them back to Hagrid's hut and told them they'd be serving detention in the Dark Forest. Granger hadn't said two words to him, in fact she'd barely spoke to any of them the entire time. Draco had tried to convince Filch not to send them into the forest, claiming there were werewolves but it was pointless.

And here he was. In this dark, dank, creepy forest with the person he hated most, while his only real friend was left with two idiots to fend for herself basically,

"Wait 'til my father hears about this. This is servant's stuff." Draco whined as he held up the lantern, Potter and that pathetic excuse for a dog, Fang, traipsing behind,

"If I didn't know better, Malfoy, I'd say you were scared."

The blonde boy rolled his head in exasperation,

"I'm not scared, Potter!" he spat, turning his head to see where that awful howling sound was coming from, "Did you hear that?"

Potter looked around and if the look on his half-blood face was anything to go by, he didn't like being in here either, not so brave now, was he? Draco called Fang as they pressed on through the forest, the dog was terribly slow, he muttered to himself about how Potter could actually think he was scared, they had gone so far into the woods, Draco had begun to think they were lost, that they'd never get out of this horrendous place. _At least not alive! _That voice in his head put in, causing his chest to tighten even more. By the time he noticed the dead unicorn and the hooded figure he had stopped breathing all together, unable to move as though he were nothing short of a statue,

"What is it, Fang?" Potter asked, glancing down at the equally still dog, Draco barely noticed Potter reach up to touch his now burning scar, all the blonde boy saw was the deathly black form feeding on a dead animal, lapping at its silvery blood, when the thing looked up and hissed at them, he screamed, he was running away from the monster before he even realised the ability to move had been returned to him. It didn't take Fang long to find his master, Hagrid looked taken aback at the horrified look on Draco's face and the growling of his dog,

"Granger!" he ran up to her and hugged her, without thinking,

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" she panicked, he shook his head, ignoring her questions,

"We have to get out, now! There's evil here, real evil, not just werewolves or trolls, something much worse! It was...it was...drinking the unicorn blood, it saw us, and I-"

She was hugging him back, much to Hagrid's and the Oaf's amazement, it wasn't until she realised something –or someone- was missing,

"Where's Harry?" she asked, pulling away, he sucked in a breath,

"I don't know!" he looked around, "I thought he'd run away too! Granger, you cannot go back in there…that thing…it'll-"

"We have to find Harry!"

"But-"

"Malfoy! No!"

He gave a resigned sigh as they made their way back into the woods, Draco didn't realise he was holding Granger's hand in a death grip until the freckled, auburn-haired fool cleared his throat in annoyance, he yanked his hand away, remembering himself, and mumbled an apology under his breath, though he doubted she noticed, he did see her hand twitch with the sudden absence of his, his own hand tingled, longing for her comforting touch again, just holding her hand meant he wouldn't lose her if something attacked them, his heart beat furiously, a lump formed in his throat, he really did not want to go back there. The forest held an air of doom now that he'd seen such a monster for himself, he could taste it on his tongue, his lungs had prepared themselves to scream the word _'run'_ the very minute something seemed off, he stole a glance at Granger, she looked just as fearful as he was, though he knew she was trying to hide it, she swallowed hard and her big, brown eyes flickered to his, he waited for the others to walk on a little ahead before grabbing her arm and pulling her back,

"I'm sorry." he said, meaning it, "If I'd have known this is what would happen, I'd have never gone to McGonagall." he looked away then, "It's just you're always with _Potter_ and I don't like it. He's trouble, Granger."

"I don't care, he's my friend! I'm friends with you, aren't I? Despite what everyone thinks."

He growled, becoming angry, couldn't she see how hard it was for him? Harry Potter had snubbed him for a penniless piece of scum and also got to prance around with his only friend on a regular basis! One whom he couldn't tell anyone about because she was a mudblood! Now Potty was trying to steal her away! And she was letting him, even though she'd told Draco that they'd be friends forever.

"You're going to get hurt!" his fist clenched, he had to stop himself from stomping his foot like the spoilt child he was.

She stared at him, the irritated look still not yet leaving her features, he tried to avoid her gaze, he hated how she made him so vulnerable with just her eyes, those knowing eyes that could tear off the mask he usually wore and peer into his darkest, innermost thoughts, it was only when she looked down, revealing long, dark lashes, that he felt safe, like she could no longer steal his soul with her eyes,

"You don't have to worry about me. Really, I'll be fine."

He didn't believe that, but he decided to let it go for now, seeing Hagrid and that Oaf had gone a fair distance from them, he grabbed her hand and ran towards the two, she let go of his hand as they came to a halt, standing as far away from one another as they could get, after all they didn't want to make the others suspicious, it was bad enough they'd hugged earlier.

Potter was talking to a centaur, Hagrid looked worried, the limp unicorn still lay in a pool of liquid silver.

"You alright Harry?" the giant ground's keeper asked, the Boy-Who-Lived nodded, Draco glanced at Granger, his stormy grey eyes trying to reign in the concern that was leaking out of them, she bit her lip and nodded at his unspoken question.

Yes. Something evil had come to Hogwarts.


	8. The Licorice Wand

Chapter 8

The Licorice Wand

The end of term had arrived all too quickly. Gryffindor had won the house cup, Slytherin had just missed out by just ten points, she'd felt too guilty to enjoy the glory though, they had after all broken hundreds of school rules. As it turns out that evil entity that was plaguing the school -and one of its professors- had been Voldemort. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had possessed their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, trying to gain enough power for his frail body, luckily Harry Potter had been able to rid Hogwarts of the man who'd killed his parents, though not without a few injuries, he had been in hospital for a week, Hermione had worried and fretted over him while she lay in her own hospital bed, much to Draco's annoyance.

It would be another two months before she would see her friends again, before she would enter this school and learn all kinds of new magic, and next year there would be no worrying for Harry, Ron or Draco, no dark wizard to face up to, no trolls, no dead unicorns, it would be a quiet year, hopefully, by then, she and Draco could be proper friends, without having to hide or pretend to fight with one another, she knew it was a fair bit to ask for but she would rather have to face up to Voldemort all by herself than have to act like she hated the blonde Slytherin. Albeit, he was an irritating, pompous, arrogant, prejudiced bully, but that was only the cold exterior he allowed people to see, he didn't reveal the caring, misguided, lonely, vulnerable boy underneath to anyone else other than her. She liked being the only one who knew what Draco was really like, she hated it too, she had to watch as Harry and Ron talked bad about one of her friends and there was nothing she could do to defend him or she'd lose him. It was hard and confusing. Hermione Granger had never liked things that confused her, which is why after the past few months she decided not to analyse their friendship, she would just have to take it for what it was whatever that may be.

She sat beside Neville and Luna, with Harry and Ron on the seat opposite her, the two boys were talking about their holidays, well, Ron was talking about going to Armenia, while Harry joked about turning his Uncle Vernon into a bookend, Luna was talking about some kind of fluffy bug that frazzles brain cells, and Neville was blushing and stammering more than usual as he tried to talk to her.

It was all rather amusing and sweet, however Hermione couldn't help but feel out of place, like there was someone missing, like she ought to have been somewhere else, it was as the train began to pull away she saw the top of the Astronomy Tower through her fogged-up window. It felt awfully strange to be leaving Hogwarts, it was like a second home to her now. She would miss the headmaster, Professor McGonagall, Nearly-Headless Nick, the long, stone corridors, the moving paintings, the winding, unpredictable staircases. From the look on Harry's face he felt the same, everyone else in the cabin would return to a home of magic, whereas the two of them would return to a home of tedious normalcy. She had missed her parents. She just didn't wish to hear about dental care when she could be practicing spells.

"Where're you goin'?" Ron asked, as she stood up and slid open the cabin door,

"To the trolley. Do you want anything?" she replied politely, though she knew Ron had already been, he was still stuffing his face with what Harry had bought him,

"Maybe later." he grinned, revealing licorice teeth, she tried to hide her distaste, turning to Harry, who shook his head, then to Luna and Neville,

"No, we're good, thanks." she pulled out a bag of magical floating sweets from her robes, Hermione nodded her head once and closed the door behind her.

She was forced to push past some of the other nattering students in order to find the old lady with the trolley full of sweets, she did think about giving up at first and stomping off back to her cabin, but she was known for her enduring nature, it was only some sweets and perhaps a drink to ease the nervous lump in her parched throat, still she saw no reason to turn around now that everyone else had finally started to move.

"What would you like, dear?" the old lady asked,

"Um..." Hermione swallowed, awkwardly tucking a stray curl behind her ear, there was just so much choice, "just a Licorice Wand and some water, please."

"Not a bother." the woman said, handing her the Wand and a bottle of enchanted water, Hermione thanked her, fishing the money out of her pretty little purse, she couldn't seem to find the last three sickles, the aisle was empting out now that everyone had their sweets, everyone except Hermione,

"A Cauldron Cake and Beetlejuice, please."

The lady at the trolley looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow as he handed her the money for both his own sweets and Hermione's,

"It's alright, dear," she said, addressing the eleven year old girl, "this fine gentleman here has paid for you both."

It was then Hermione looked up in surprise, she expected Harry, Ron maybe, even Neville, she did not expect to see Draco Malfoy holding his rather ugly looking cake and Beetlejuice, she looked from him to the trolley lady who just nodded for them to move along, she frowned and began walking down the vacant aisle with Draco,

"Thanks." she said, before she grabbed his arm to stop him, placing seven sickles in his hand, he rolled his eyes, refusing to take the money and instead slipping back into her own hand,

"My treat, Granger."

"But I-"

"Draco," Pansy called in a sing-song voice, her smile turned into a glare the minute she noticed Hermione standing so close to him, "what are you doing with the Mudblood?"

Steel grey eyes lingered on Hermione's face, she gave the slightest of nods, knowing what was to come, he chugged his Beetlejuice, downing the thick, fizzy, green-black liquid before scoffing,

"What? You think I _wanted_ to find her here? That jealously of yours is getting out of hand, Parkinson, it's actually making you go mad."

Hermione had to stifle a laugh at the sullen look that came across Pansy's face when she realised his insult was more aimed at her than Hermione. She hated Pansy, she was mean and vile and yet she had Draco. It wasn't fair. The blonde boy took a bite out of his cake as he made his way towards his cabin, where Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise were no doubt waiting for him, she watched as he mumbled something under his breath to Pansy that made the girl scowl and stomp inside the tiny seating area, slamming the door behind her, he turned then to wink at her,

"Next year then, eh Granger?" he said, his tone deliberately bitter for the benefit of his _other_ friends, she blushed, smiling back, making certain to keep her voice low enough for only him to hear,

"Yeah, next year. Write me?"

He gave her a look that said 'of course' and they both grinned mischievously at one another, she held up her enchanted water and Licorice Wand, mouthing a thank you, he opened the door to his cabin and walked inside, she could hear them talking, according to Draco he had just made her cry, she shook her head in disbelief, turning on her heel to leave the boy she wouldn't see for another eight weeks.

She took her seat beside Neville once again, she wanted to hug him. This year had been nothing like she expected, the people, the places, the adventure, not one thing that had happened she had anticipated, but she was glad for those things. If he hadn't lost his toad and asked for her help, she would never have talked to Draco Malfoy like she had that first day, because she'd have been told that he was trouble and she ought to leave him be. Neville really was the only reason she'd talked to him, he was the reason she realised she actually liked the Slytherin boy. She smiled as she ate her Licorice Wand, listening half-heartedly to Harry and Ron's rant about not using magic outside of school. She wouldn't want to have to be returning home from Hogwarts without ever knowing Draco like she knew him now.

Because of Neville, they were friends. She didn't want to think that in some alternate reality they might not be.


	9. Blackmail

**Year Two: The Chamber of Secrets **

Chapter 9

Blackmail

"Mione, love. There's post here for you!" her dad called from the bottom of the stairs, within moments she was running down them, brimming with excitement, her father grinned at her, opening the front door as the black owl approached, with the letter in its beak. She knew it was from him, no-one else had such a beautiful owl, even with its black-as-night feathers and piercing eyes, it was his and because of this it was lovely. The bird flew onto Hermione's shoulder, nuzzling her neck before dropping the extravagant looking envelope into her hands, the owl stirred, flying off her shoulder and out the house, her father raised an eyebrow quizzically at her, closing over the door,

"I doubt I'll ever quite get used to that."

She smiled at him, bolting back up the stairs, not hearing her mother call when she asked her daughter who the letter was from. Hermione ran into her room, jumping on the bed and carefully tearing open the letter she'd been waiting all week for. He hadn't written back in so long, she thought he might be mad at her for something, had she wrote something that had offended him? Had he just forgot? It didn't matter to her if he had, not now that she was unfolding the letter, it smelled of him, the fragrance that just effortlessly lingered on him like fine perfume, it smelt like crushed rose petals and cider wood, a lovely, subtle yet harsh smell. Much like his handwriting, certain letters seemed hard while others seemed soft, his script was made up of gracefully curving letters and eloquent wording, making her own letters to him look rubbish in her eyes.

_Hermione Granger_

_Unfortunately, father thinks I'm up to no good and he's been keeping an eye on me, leaving me very little time or privacy to write. But for now he has been held up with business at the Ministry, although Dobby does seem to be watching me like a hawk, the pitiful creature hasn't moved since I last threw a shoe at him! _

_Have you heard about the new Nimbus 2001's? I'm going to make certain father buys me one. I wouldn't be seen dead on my tatty old thing now. Can you even fly yet, Granger? You know, I could teach you if you like. _

_I can't believe I'm actually writing this -on paper, in ink, where it could be used as blackmail against me- but…I can't wait for the new term. Yes, you may hit me over the head with that huge book you're always carrying around. I have to admit I'd rather a bossy, know-it-all like you than that blasted Parkinson. She's driving me mad, I've never known a girl nag so much, she could give Moaning Myrtle a run for her money. Crabbe and Goyle aren't much better either, I tried to explain to them the difference between Animagi and werewolves the other day and neither of them understood a bloody word I was saying. If they were any slower, they'd be going backwards. _

_I'm telling you, Granger, Dobby hasn't moved an inch and I've been poking him with my wand for some time now, he's just staring at me with those big, muddy house-elf eyes of his, it's starting to scare me. I'm tempted to Transfigure him into a lantern or something._

_Did I tell you about the new spell I learnt? I can fire a snake from my wand, it's really cool, I'll show you when we're back at Hogwarts. You're not afraid of snakes, are you? Don't worry, she won't bite. _

_Well, I best go now, it sounds like father is home and mother will be wondering what I'm doing up in my bedroom at this time of an evening, when I could be downstairs, playing wizard's chess with Parkinson. I swear mother is trying to set us up! What kind of madman would want to be set up with that thing, I'll never know. _

_Your __best__ friend, Hydrus. _

_P.S By the way, you're going to have to put a muzzle on that bloody bird of yours, I'm tired of it biting me. _

She stared down at the once neatly folded piece of parchment, not knowing whether to frown in annoyance at the way he constantly mistreated his house-elf, despite her telling him not to, or to laugh at the image of him being forced to spend more time with Pansy Parkinson, she knew he didn't like her one bit, which was why she found it amusing he thought his mother would try to set him up with her, he'd told her his father was cruel but his mother couldn't really be that evil, could she?

Hermione imagined Draco's furrowed brow as he vented his frustration out in his letter, even with his nagging she couldn't stop the smile that lit up her face, he would often write how much Crabbe and Goyle's ignorance annoyed him, how he couldn't wait to be able to have long, conversations with her on the Astronomy Tower about anything from books and music, -with him arguing that his favourite band, the Hobgoblins, was better than her Weird Sisters- to their favourite wizard card in a pack of Chocolate Frogs, to what they wanted to do with their lives, he often complained about the lack of decent company he had around him, which Hermione took for meaning that he missed her. But not one of his letters was bitter, they were every other emotion than the one he was forced to display to her when they passed in the halls at Hogwarts. She liked the privacy, the freedom to write whatever they felt, she just wished it could be like that all the time.

Harry had stopped writing her a couple of weeks ago, she didn't know why, he seemed perfectly fine until one day he just stopped, at first she worried, but now she was rather angry at him, he could at least tell her if he didn't want her to write, there was no reason to ignore her.

And Ron was busy with his brother Charlie in Romania, they were studying dragons again, she'd gotten maybe three letters from him in the past two months.

Neville had written but only once and only to ask what a good birthday present for a girl was, she assumed he wanted to get something for Luna and told him she'd probably like a flying seahorse charm that would sing her to sleep.

Draco had written to her everyday, about anything that crossed his ever-witty mind, she had at least fifty-four letters from him already, all tied together with a piece of ivory ribbon from her mother's sewing box and tucked into an empty draw she'd saved especially for them. She had taken her favourites out of their envelopes and re-read them. Each one made her smile. Each one meant he thought enough about her to write back. Each one proved her idea -that she didn't really matter at all to him- wrong.

She jumped up from her bed to sit at her desk, grabbing her quill, she wrote the first line and decided it wasn't right, scrunching the paper up, she started again, this time her _E_ was crooked, making the whole script look lazy, again she threw the ball of paper in the bin, and neatly tore out another from her note book, it took eight attempts before she decided it was the best she could do, her writing was nowhere near as good as Draco's but it was tidy, her words, she thought, were meaningful and lighthearted enough to hopefully cheer him up a little. She leaned back in her chair, reluctantly examining her letter again.

_Draco Malfoy_

_Leave poor Dobby alone! Obviously your father has told him to keep an eye on you, he doesn't need you tormenting him as well. God, Malfoy, I'm beginning to wonder if whatever it is Crabbe and Goyle have got is catching, how is it you're better than me in Potions yet you can be quite thick at times? Then again, Snape hates me, maybe you're not that good after all. _

_They've brought out new brooms? Already? Well, I doubt they're any good, besides Nimbus 2001 or not, you'll get onto the Quidditch team this year, they'd be mad not to pick you, you'll probably be the best player Slytherin has ever had. Besides I have to admit Harry is beginning to annoy me, he's too confidant about his flying technique for his own good, no, that doesn't mean you can hex him, it just means it will be good for him to have a little competition. Maybe if you beat him, he won't go on and on in his letters about how good his is on a broom –or at least he was until a few weeks ago, he hasn't written in a while. Never mind. Anyway, when you get onto the Quidditch team, you better play fair, Malfoy, I'm warning you. As for me, I can't be good at everything, can I? It wouldn't be fair to be top of every class and brilliant at flying too. I have to let you beat me at one thing at least, I wouldn't want you to be in a huff with me because I'm one of the -if not the- brightest witches my age. Ha! You know I'm only mucking around. _

_Do not make me turn this letter into a Howler, it wouldn't do any of us any good, I mean it, stop poking Dobby with that wand of yours, just because I can't see you doesn't mean I don't know you're still doing it! _

_Perhaps Pansy fancies you? She's always nice to you to a nauseating point. Beware she doesn't slip you a love potion, you wouldn't want to turn out like Goyle, I don't think I'd ever be able to stop laughing. Although, I think I'd rather marry the cat than that wench. _

_Are you sure that spell of yours is a real one? I've never heard of it before, it best not be prohibited. I'm not very fond of snakes, but I trust you. I've learn some new spells too and new potions, I've even done some light reading on things we'll be learning this year. I wonder who our new Defence teacher will be. I heard it was an Auror, but then I heard it was Lockhart too. You know, the author. He's lovely, you'll never believe all the things he's done, he's terribly heroic and brave. I think I'm in love with him! _

_I better go. One of my muggle friends, Alexa, is staying over tonight, she's going to show me how to do my hair nicely, she says I ought to cut it short so it won't be as messy, but I don't want to, I like it long, what do you think? _

_Your __favourite __know-it-all, Aristotle._

She knew if she looked at it any longer she would find another mistake to correct or something not perfect. She folded the letter and tucked it into her own muggle envelope, she opened the cage her poor owl had been trapped in over the summer, and placed the envelope in his beak.

"Now, you bring this to Malfoy, alright? And don't bite him. I mean it!" she scolded, before opening the window and releasing the bird, she watched the creature fly away with her post, hoping he wouldn't attack Draco again, she had no idea why the bird had a vendetta for the blonde boy but evidently her owl didn't like him.

"Mione?" her mom called, "Alexa is here."

Hermione glanced at her clock, it was five-twenty-nine. She had been up here for three hours writing that letter, damn Draco Malfoy and his flawless handwriting! She groggily got up from her chair, her earlier excitement gone, and made her way downstairs. Her mother was cooking Italian carbinara with pasta in a rich, creamy sauce and new potatoes, Alexa sat in the sitting room, watching the television, the girl grinned up at Hermione as she opened her bag which contained clips, headbands and a brush amongst other things. The girls giggled as they made their way back upstairs and into the bathroom. Well, Alexa giggled, Hermione was worried, she wasn't a girly type of girl, she was the bookish type.

_Although, I do want to look pretty for Draco when I get back to Hogwarts. _

No. Hermione Granger did not just think that. Draco was a friend, she _didn't_ like him like that, she _didn't_ have a crush on him, she _didn't_ care whether or not he thought she looked pretty.

She _was not_ very good at lying to herself.


	10. Flourish and Blotts

Chapter 10

Flourish and Blotts

Hermione exited the shop, looking for her muggle parents, no doubt they'd be lost in a place like Diagon Alley, when she saw Harry and Hagrid walking towards her, she ran at them, a smile on her face and if the look on Harry's was anything to go by, he was just as happy to see her, but if that was the case, why had he stopped writing all of a sudden? She berated herself for being so foolish, she knew Harry's Uncle Vernon was a wizard-hating fool, he'd probably stole Harry's letters in a frail attempt to rid the poor boy of anything magical.

She greeted them both, looking up at the huge ground's keeper who returned the favour in a very proud, fatherly manner, she turned back to Harry, to find him covered in dirt and his glasses broken. Why was it the most famous wizard of all time, the Boy-Who-Lived and then stopped Voldemort in his first year at Hogwarts, somehow always unable to arrive to school unscathed? She wouldn't have it any other way though to tell the truth, she was just glad she was going back and that Harry wasn't in a huff with her.

"Oh, it's so good to see you." she said barely able to contain her excitement,

"It's great to see you too." Harry replied, she couldn't help but notice him taking in her new look.

She was wearing a blue jumper, underneath her school robes, and a cream pleated skirt, slightly shorter than usual, black knee high socks and pumps completed the look. It was more girly, more grown up, and she liked it that way.

Despite both her mother and her muggle friends telling her to cut her hair, she had left it long, tiding it up by pulling some of it back into a clip to reveal more of her face. It had nothing to do with the fact that Draco had said in one of his letter's that he liked her hair long.

"What did you do to your glasses?" she pulled a face, not only was he a mess, he'd ruined his glasses too, she sighed, pulling out her wand, just like last year, his glasses mended themselves, the cracks vanishing, even the lenses were cleaner, he still seemed as stunned as he had their first day on the train,

"Definitely need to remember that one." he mumbled, taking off his newly fixed glasses to inspect them, he gave her a sheepish look, of course, Hermione had never had a spell backfire on her in her life.

"You'll be alright now then, Harry? Right. I'll leave you to it." Hagrid nodded, eyeing Harry wearily, the boy had a knack for finding trouble.

They watched the half-giant retreat back in the direction he'd come, when he was gone, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, dragging him into Flourish and Blotts, it was dark yet inviting, maybe it was the air of mystery or the fact that it was a bookshop, one of her favourite places, or maybe it was because today they were holding a book signing for Lockhart's newest auto-biography, _Magical Me. _Hermione just hoped no-one thought she'd changed her clothes for him, she hadn't, though she had to admit she did feel rather lovely, it was merely a bonus that she was in the front row where Lockhart would be able to see her. She didn't even mind the photographers pushing past them to get a picture of the stunningly beautiful man, because from here she could see his eyes, his smile, breathe in his expensive, heroic scent.

She had never seen a man so refined, so suave, she had never read of one so brave, he was perfection solidified, he was a true Romeo, she was so consumed in Lockhart, she hardly noticed him calling Harry up to be photographed with him or Draco staring at her from the staircase overhead, a bitter look on his face. More pictures were taken, flashes going off here and there as the Boy-Who-Lived stood, uncomfortably in the arms of the most wonderful man on earth, or at least that's what most witches in the shop made of it. Afterwards, Lockhart sent Harry off, taking his seat and grabbing a quill, Ron's mother told them to hurry along and wait outside while she got their books signed.

Hermione was in an almost trance like state as she thought of Lockhart's dreamy smile, sighing in content, she followed Harry to the exit, then she saw Draco standing on the staircase, setting down the book he'd been reading when he noticed them coming, he hurriedly stuffed a piece of paper into his pocket and half-ran down to pounce on Harry,

"Bet you loved that didn't you, Potter?" he spat, looming over him, Hermione couldn't believe how much he'd changed over the summer, not only was he at least a head taller than her now, while last year they'd been the same height, the definition coming into his jaw, even his voice had changed, it was rougher, more raspy, she blushed without meaning to, "_Famous Harry Potter_. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page!"

She frowned, a whole two months and the first thing he notices is Harry? She didn't like that he was tormenting her friends again, she also didn't like that he seemed to enjoy it so much that he barely saw her standing there.

Ron's little sister moved forward.

"Leave him alone!"

"Oh, look, Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend." the grin was wiped right off his face when the silver snake head of a man's walking stick was placed on his shoulder, gently brushing the blonde boy aside,

"Now, now, Draco, play nicely." the tall man with equally white blonde hair said, though his was much longer, "Mr. Potter, Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last."

Harry shook his hand; he was polite, after all, even if it was Draco's father,

"Forgive me..." he abruptly pulled Harry closer, moving his hair out of the way with the head of his walking stick to examine the scar on his forehead, "You're scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it you."

"Voldemort killed my parents." Harry said, defiantly speaking the name, "He was nothing more than a murderer."

It was then that Hermione finally managed to escape the throng of wizards and witches all clad in black robes that pushed past her, she stood on the stairs beside Draco, giving him no choice but to notice her, as well as her new look, she could feel his eyes on her as his father spoke,

"Hmm, you must be very brave to mention his name...Or very foolish." he added, smiling deviously.

This was the first time Hermione had ever met Draco's father and she knew she didn't like him, there was something off about him, something that frightened her,

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." she said, ignoring Draco's lingering gaze, Lucius turned his attention to her now in a look she could only call bemused, as if she were some mute child who was trying and failing miserably to form a sentence, it was a pitying, dubious look,

"And you must be...Miss Granger." he glanced at his son for conformation, the boy nodded, "Yes. Draco has told me all about you-" her hearted fluttered for a minute, then it went cold, "-and you're parents."

Hermione gave a quick peek to her parents, who were now talking to Ron's father, laughing and joking,

"Muggles, aren't they?" Lucius continued, she was fuming, her fists clenched and sweaty, she almost wanted him to say it, just so she could kick him in the shin or something, but he didn't, he wouldn't in front of all these people. Hermione's frown was dark and brooding, she hated that word, the one he was thinking as he looked at her, it was bad enough having to endure Draco throwing it her way once in a while, it hurt more so from the likes Lucius Malfoy, from people who meant it, it made her feel like she ought to be ashamed of herself and her parents when she knew neither she nor her family had done anything wrong. It wasn't a crime to be a muggle-born, though if Draco's father had his way. It would be.

Soon Lucius had moved on to ridicule Ron and his family. She wasn't listening though she was too tied up in her own thoughts, not to mention Draco's fingers gently caressing her own, silently asking to hold her hand, she looked away, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes, however he already had and decided to hold her hand anyway. It was a comforting gesture though it pained her as well. Of all the things Hermione knew of friendship, she never realised it held so many contradictions. How could someone make you feel at ease and yet they were the ones who caused the blasted butterflies? Butterflies with razor sharp wings that tore you apart when they glared at you. She snatched her hand away from his, not missing the bewildered and slightly hurt look he gave her, she was angry, at him, his father, everyone, she was fed up with all the scheming, like he was ashamed to be associated with her.

When she looked up again, Lucius and Ron's father were having a quiet tiff over what disgraces a wizard's name, then the blonde man told him he'd see him at work. Draco seemed to take this as his cue and brushed past Hermione to glower at Harry,

"See you at school."

Her brow knitted tightly together as she stared at him, he caught her eye, holding her gaze for an all too fleeting moment, she swore something passed between them then, something wonderful, but it was gone as quickly as it'd came, he raised an eyebrow at her, seeming rather upset but hopeful, he gave the faintest of nods as a goodbye before he left.

Hermione had no idea what she saw in that boy or why she'd ever wanted to be friends with him, she only knew that she couldn't just turn away now, he was awful to Harry and Ron and practically everyone else too, but something kept pulling her back to him and she couldn't fathom what. She didn't want the feelings she had for him because whatever they were they were agonising, with a mere grin he could light up her day, with a frown he could torture her in ways dark wizards like Voldemort never could.

She couldn't imagine not having him as her friend, she just wished she didn't feel like it was all one big game to him, she was still anticipating the day that Draco Malfoy properly sneered at her and laughed as he told her it was all a joke. She wanted to know that the boy she knew was real but there was an inkling of doubt in her mind, which she hated. She supposed she'd find out sooner or later.


	11. A Bloody Awful Train Ride

Chapter 11

A Bloody Awful Train Ride

He couldn't believe how pretty she'd gotten over the summer. He was glad she'd taken his advice not to cut her hair, it was a mass of wayward curls but it was one of the things that made her...well, Granger.

She wasn't wearing the ruddy old jumpers and jeans like she had last year, she actually looked rather like a girl, he wanted to think her new look was because of him, he was attractive for his age, what girl wouldn't want him to think she was pretty? But he knew Granger too well, she wasn't like that, he'd seen the look on her face as she stared, longingly, at Lockhart, she only thought of him as a friend, bookworms like her saw no reason to dress up for someone who's just a friend. Of course, it was a good thing too, he oughtn't be thinking such ridiculous thoughts, really any idiot would think he _fancied _her.

Which was not the case. Not at all. He merely wanted her to put effort into her clothes for him and no-one else; he was a Malfoy after all.

He was sitting in his cabin on the Hogwarts express, Crabbe and Goyle were stuffing their faces with cakes, Licorice Wands and that bubblegum that wouldn't burst for days, while Parkinson was droning on about something, he'd lost interest in what she was saying long ago, in fact he think it was the very moment she opened her mouth. Draco wondered if the raven-haired girl ever got tired of her own voice, he highly doubted it, from her constant nagging and moaning about everything, he did think that maybe she was proud of that blasted, powerful pair of lungs she had on her and decided to make it known to everyone. Either that or she was making up for what she was lacking in the mental capability department. And there was loads to make up for there. He'd never had such un-stimulating conversations with anyone else. Maybe it was just Granger, she had an unusual way of making everything she said seem interesting, maybe it was her awkward babbling or her bossy attitude but in comparison to her, no-one was good enough.

Suddenly the door slid open and there she was, about to say something when Parkinson cut her off, it was so like the first day they met,

"What do you want, Mudblood?"

Granger gulped, a deep, worried frown marring her lovely features, something was wrong, she wouldn't usually barge in there like that or completely ignore Parkinson, her big dark eyes were fearful and boring into his, he wanted to move, to do something, but he couldn't, their friendship wasn't allowed,

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding indifferent and concerned at the same time,

"Harry and Ron...I can't find them anywhere, they're-"

"Get it through your thick head." Parkinson stood then to roughly push the girl out of the cabin, much to Draco's anger, "We. Don't. Care." she said the words slowly and carefully, emphasising each one, before slamming the door shut.

Draco got to his feet, glowering at the Slytherin girl with enough hate to make her recoil, if looks could kill she would've long been doomed, he stepped out of the cabin to find Granger leaning against one of the walls a few rows down, the frown never left her face, her arms crossed over her chest, her lips turned down at the corners, she was quite shaken about this, wasn't she? He couldn't blame her really, evil seemed to follow Potter everywhere, it'd killed his parents, it'd possessed a teacher and released a troll into the school that had attempted to attack her, it'd been in the Dark Forest that night, and now this.

"Are you alright?" he said, praying she couldn't decipher the look on his face,

"I'm worried."

"Why? It's only Potter."

Did he always have to be so childish? Couldn't he at least try to comfort her and not make nasty remarks about her other friends? After all they'd been through last year, the fights atop the Astronomy Tower, the hiding, the lying, everything they'd done just to be together, anyone would have thought by now she'd be more important to him than his petty rivalries, he really should have grown up, but somehow jealously always got the better of him,

"Because, Malfoy, unlike _you_, I care about my friends!" she fired back,

"What's that supposed to mean?" he replied, thoroughly offended.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes,

"The only thing you care about is tormenting Harry. I was right next to you in Flourish and Blotts and you didn't even notice!"

His grey eyes widened for a second, shock hit him, she hadn't...had she? Did Hermione Granger want him to notice her? Did she want him to think she was pretty? He scowled, mentally berating himself for thinking such things, she was a mudblood, it was hard enough to be friends with her let alone anything else, not that he wanted anything else, he didn't, he just wanted her to want him to want more to come from their friendship, he wanted her to want him to want what she wanted- wait, _what? _Great, he was turning into her with her over-thinking! His racing thoughts and the sting of her words caused him to frown, his eyes narrowing,

"I was there! I saw you staring at Lockhart with that disgusting dreamy look on your face!" he snapped, "You were the one who wanted to be friends, it was your idea to pretend we hated each other. I didn't want any part of it!" he was thoroughly fed up, how could she pin the blame on him when this was all her mess?

Anger, confusion, exasperation, hopelessness and hurt played in her dark brown orbs, he hadn't wanted to hurt her, but she had hurt him, she was always there for Potter, she never had time for his problems. She opened her mouth to say something then stopped, he could tell she was dealing with some kind of internal conflict. He wanted her to tell him that she gave a damn, that she would never care as much about Potty as she did for him, he wanted to know he'd never be second best for her, because he was tired of being just that to everyone else.

His father didn't love him, he simply wanted him to grow up and become a Death Eater, he wasn't exactly certain what it was they did but he understood they were powerful, Draco liked power, so he would agree to it. His mother wanted him to marry a pureblood, Parkinson in particular, his friends wanted him for his money and reputation. Nobody liked him for who he was let alone loved him for it. And one of the most important people in the world to him, the only person who'd given him a chance to be himself was turning her back on him after only a year, it wasn't fair, why must everything he truly wants be taken away from him?

"What do you mean? You didn't want any part of it?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly,

"I'm fed up, Granger," he sighed, "I'm tired of hiding and lying for you when all you do is run to Potty and that Oaf the first chance you get."

She didn't say anything, the silence was unbearable, he watched as she bit her lip, her eyes darting to the side in thought, he could imagine the cogs in her chest whirring with muddled feelings and coming to a painfully abrupt halt, giving them both a kind of heart-wrenching whiplash,

"Are you saying you don't want to be friends anymore?" this time when she spoke her voice was hoarse and filled with the emotions that he had always been afraid of, that he had never felt until he met her, that he wished he'd never felt at all, something so good wasn't meant to be so painful, it was his turn to not speak, he was thinking about what to say, the words caught in his throat, it was him or Potter and if he gave her that ultimatum it would only make their fight worse, but that just meant having to get his point across another way and he had no idea how to do tha-

"Draco! I was wondering where you'd run off to. You had me worried." Parkinson said, stalking over to them and taking hold of his hand, he saw Hermione swallow hard before looking away, "What are you doing here, Mudblood? God, you follow us everywhere! Anyone would think you fancy my Draco or something!" she laughed, seeing the shock on the other girl's delicate features, "Oh, no, don't tell me. You do, don't you? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

He saw her eyes shine, but it was the dim light of unshed tears, making her beautiful dark eyes look like pools of muddy water, there was a knife twisting in his stomach, the pain was so sharp he thought he might have actually been stabbed, he glanced down, there was no blood seeping through his khaki green polo neck, this was a different kind of agony. The feeling only intensified when she sucked in a shallow breath and turned to leave,

"Granger!" he called, not even bothering to hide his desperation, she half-turned to face him, her long hair whipping her face,

"_What_, Malfoy?"

He winched at the bitterness of her tone, setting his jaw. It was over then. He barely had to look at her to guess as such, she had wrongly assumed he didn't want to be friends and she had gladly taken to genuinely hating him, was it that easy for her? Had their friendship meant so little? Was their silent unbreakable vow just lies? He felt the sting of his own tears, like a claw scratching at his throat, like the tingling sensation of blood rushing through the vessels in is nose after being hit. He had suffered his father's beatings because he'd wanted to be her friend and this was how she repaid him? By trampling on his every hope with her ugly, mudblood shoes? No, he would not allow it.

"Don't talk to me again. I don't want to catch something! Better yet, don't even look at me, I feel sick when you do!"

The tears toppled over, trailing down her cheeks in a kind of twisted way of torturing him, her fists clenched, she was shaking, but whether it was from her own anger or the sobs that seemed to rattle her very core, he couldn't tell,

"I _hate_ you! You're nothing but a waste of space! You're pathetic and utterly vile! And I'd be happy to never speak to or look at you again! _I. Hate. You!_" she screamed, crying profusely, her breathing seemed ragged and laboured, like she had only seconds left to live. She was dying inside.

As was Draco. What little colour there had ever been in his handsome face was gone, his heart was erratic, pounding painfully against his ribs, he could barely hear Parkinson's words in his ear, he could only see Granger, could only hear her retreating footsteps, could only feel the blood thumping through his veins in fear. He was very afraid. The same way an arachnophobe feared spiders. It was the kind of fear that pinned you in place and ate away at your sanity.

He was afraid he'd lost her and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

This had turned out to be one bloody awful train ride.


	12. Enemies of the Heir

Chapter 12 

Enemies of the Heir

He had ignored her since that day on the train. It was killing him. Every time he saw her with Potty and that hideous Oaf, the knife would twist, his lungs would close in, suffocating him, he hated that she could do this to him, he wasn't brave like her but he wasn't supposed to be this weak, at least not when it came to emotion. Like a flick of a switch, he could adapt to whatever people wanted. With her it was different; he didn't know what it was she wanted from him, at least not anymore.

It should have been a great year. He had gotten onto the Quidditch team and his father had bought him the new Nimbus 2001's. But it all seemed meaningless without Granger, they'd grown up, they knew now they were too different to be friends and he would end up going out to the Astronomy Tower alone.

Draco sighed as he made his way down the hall with a crowd of classmates, his fists clenched, he didn't like that word, 'alone'. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, stinging his throat like a wasp. Seeing Filch, he began shuffling his feet to annoy the grumpy old git, stuffing his hands into his pockets, where he felt something...like worn parchment scrunched up into a tiny, stiff ball, he pulled it out, tossing it in the air before catching it and opening it out in order to see what it was. There were numbers on it, one to ten in Roman numerals, one was scribbled out, and there was a smiling pixie on the corner of the page_. _His heart sank as he realised if was from that day in their History of Magic class, Professor Binns had him partner up with Granger, not that he'd minded at the time, they'd been studying wizard law and rights, it was the day she'd been attacked by that bloody troll. A real one, not just Parkinson this time. He'd been so worried when he found out it was her and so pissed off when he eventually got it out of her that she'd only been in the bathroom crying because of that disgusting, ugly, penniless Oaf.

Grinding his teeth, Draco screwed the paper back up into a ball and shoved it back in his pocket, his face more sour than before, he missed the bossy girl more than he'd ever admit to anyone, even himself at times. He missed her pretentious tone, her bushy hair, the way she always smelt of orchids and muggle things, the way she wouldn't be seen dead without a book somewhere.

There was no way she would forgive him after all the nasty things he'd said to her over the past few months, he had called her names every chance he was given.

He remembered that day on the pitch, when Snape had given the Slytherin team permission to train him as their new seeker, Wood hadn't been too happy about it, neither had Potter. It had been then Granger and the Oaf had come over to see what all the fuss was about. He had, of course, ridiculed her and called her a mudblood. He'd seen the hurt in her eyes, something he'd promised himself after their first time on the Astronomy Tower he would never do, but he had, again and again and again and he was still doing it, her refusal to talk to him was excruciating, he wanted her to feel as badly as he did, he wanted to know he could make her feel as horrible as she had made him.

Granger had toyed with him. He was merely settling the score.

First he noticed the cat hanging from a lantern spire on the wall, immobile, then he noticed Granger standing beside those two fools she called friends, finally he saw the writing on the wall, there was collective gasp of horror between students and professors. It was written in blood, probably the cat's, it scared him, ate at him from the bone. No doubt this was Potter's fault, he'd always had a way of getting people around him killed, look at his parents. God forbid anything happened to Granger, Draco would kill him, he wouldn't even feel guilty about it.

'"Enemies of the heir, beware...'" he read out loud, risking a glance at the girl he'd once been friends with, light grey orbs met dark black ones, there it was again, that magnificent thing he felt pass between them when he looked at those eyes, he sneered, attempting to convey a warning, "You'll be next, mudbloods."

Granger looked anxious, the Oaf was downright glaring daggers at him, he didn't even bother returning the favour.

Suddenly Filch was back, pushing past the throng of startled students,

"What's goin' on 'ere? Eh? Go on. Make way, make way!" he grumbled, "Potter. What are you...?" he trailed off, glancing up at the cat, "Mrs. Norris?" the deranged keeper glowered at Potter, much to Draco's amusement, "You've murdered my cat!"

"Wh-? Er, no, no!" the Boy-Who-Refused-To-Die stuttered, the blonde Slytherin smirked,

"I'll kill you...I'll kill you!" Filch took a fistful of Potter's robes, his eyes wide with nothing short of madness, unfortunately for Draco, Professor Dumbledore stopped him from going any further, stating that everyone must return to their dorms immediately, everyone except the Golden Trio.

He raised an eyebrow at her, grinning deviously, she bit her lip and looked away, before he turned on his heel and headed down the hall. He would've betted his inheritance they were going to get detention, serves her right too, for just leaving him when she'd said she wouldn't.

The Slytherin common room was a lavishly decorated dungeon-like place with dark wood furniture and vase amounts of green, there was some gold, though very little, it was mainly engraved in the lamps and other expensive-looking trinkets, there were two black leather sofas in the middle of the room next to the extravagant fireplace, adorned with green cushions. Like the rest of his housemates, Draco made his way down the few steps to the centre of the room, he threw himself down onto that sofa, propping his feet upon the dark coffee table, everything in the room was dark, just how he liked it.

Zabini and Parkinson sat opposite him, the raven-haired girl with her feet tucked up under her and the dark-skinned boy perched on the arm,

"Did you see the Mudblood's face when you said that?" she asked, "She almost looked hurt. Funny, isn't it? Since I didn't know mudbloods had feelings."

Draco rolled his eyes, he really did not want to talk about Granger, it was bad enough thinking about her, which he wouldn't be able to stop himself from doing tonight of all nights. That message had caused a cold sweat to seep down the nape of his neck, what had Potter gotten her into this time? Better yet, why couldn't she see he was a nuisance? He was going to get her into trouble or injured or…worse. He gulped. He didn't want to think about that either,

"To tell the truth I don't really care, Parkinson." he drawled, pinching his nose, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on,

"She's rather pretty when she's upset, don't you think?" Zabini said in his ever-serene yet pessimistic tone, Draco envied his ability to say whatever it was he was thinking regardless of the consequences, still that didn't mean he didn't want to just throttle him as well. He was suddenly irate, murderous, he didn't want any one of his friends anywhere near Granger, even one as respectable as Zabini, it just wasn't on, if he couldn't have her –as a _friend_- then why should they?

"What's that? I hadn't pegged you for a blood-traitor!" he snarled, hoping the other boy would get the point, Zabini simply gave him a bored look,

"What do you mean she's pretty?" Parkinson asked, outraged, knowing how hard the Italian was to please, "Are you blind, Blaise? She's absolutely hideous! I want to gorge out my own eyes every time I'm forced to look at her filthy mudblood face."

Draco's breath was coming out quick and hot, his lips twitched, he had to stop himself of throwing her out of the common room and right on her bony arse. How dare she say such things about Granger when she was not much better looking? In fact she was far from it.

"I doubt even Draco thinks that little of her, don't you?" Zabini smirked, noticing his reaction to Parkinson's words,

"Why would I care if she's pretty or not? It's bad enough we're plagued with her pitiful existence." his headache had quickly turned into a migraine,

"Well, if she was one of ours I wouldn't mind getting to know her better."

The blonde boy got to his feet and grabbed him by the scruff of his robes, breathing hard, his lip curled up, Zabini only grinned at him, causing his pearly blue-grey eyes to darken,

"I ever catch you looking at her again and you'll regret it! You hear me, Zabini?"

Zabini nodded, the smile hadn't yet left his face, there was some kind of odd gleam in his eyes, Draco released him, going back to lounge on the sofa, much to the shock of practically every Slytherin in the room, no-one had ever seen Draco Malfoy lash out like that, they'd seen him torment, they'd seen him threaten, they'd seen him get his goons to beat someone up, but never had he looked so menacing, never had he seemed so willing to do his dirty work himself.

"Fantasising over a mudblood!" Draco exclaimed, pretending to be angry merely because of Granger's heritage when that hadn't actually been the case, he just couldn't hold onto his temper any longer, Zabini had crossed some invisible line he'd drawn where his former friend was concerned, a line he hadn't been aware of until just now. He glanced over at Parkinson, who's entire body had gone rigid, she looked angry and as if she were about to cry,

"What's wrong with you now?" he groaned, she courtly shook her head and stood, heading up to her dorm and leaving a suddenly confused Draco behind, Zabini gave him a knowing smile,

"Don't worry," the dark-skinned boy leaned in to whisper, "I won't tell anyone about your little secret."

Draco swallowed the lump in his throat, frowning hard,

"And what secret would that be?" he snapped,

"Don't be daft. It's pretty clear that you have feelings for Granger."

He laughed, or at least he would have had it not come out sounded almost like an angry bark,

"That's ridiculous. She's a-"

"Mudblood? Yeah, I could practically see you ripping Pansy's head off when she said that. You near ripped mine off and all I said was that she was pretty, surely that's a lot nicer than some of the things I've heard you say _to her face_."

Draco could hardly move, the blood had drained from every limb he possessed, he licked his upper lip, tasting sweat there,

"You're talking rubbish, Zabini."

"Am I?" he gave the blonde a pitying look.

Zabini moved away from him to sit at one of the many tables used for studying, he sat next to Raina Van Hegna, the two were rather close, he opened out a thick book and began easily talking to the girl.

Draco watched them, longing for things to be that easy between him and Granger, it never would be again though, he'd just wished her dead to her face, or at least it would seem like he had to her, she'd never forgive him for that and he couldn't really blame her. He wanted to, he would liked to have been able to properly hate her until he felt nothing else for her, that was highly unlikely, due to the fact that he could barely hate her for more than a few hours at most, he would rant and moan about her to anyone who would listen or sometimes just to himself, but then he would sit silently and think of their long nights atop the Astronomy Tower, where they would end up talking for most of the night and get very little sleep, causing both to be rather cranky, then they'd bite one another head's off at the slightest thing the next day and be perfectly fine with each other the day after that.

That, he'd learnt, was what friends did, however he couldn't seem to have that with anyone else.


	13. Purity

**A/N: Admittedly, I took a fair bit from the film here, but I had to do it, it made sense and fit with my story, besides a little canon makes it more realistic but if you don't like it, that's perfectly fine. RxR. **

* * *

Chapter 13

Purity

Hermione hadn't been able to sleep that night, the evidence was in the dark circles under her eyes, she hadn't even done her hair like she usually would, she hadn't felt the need to since...since she stopped being friends with Draco.

She took her seat in Transfiguration class beside Neville, dumping her books on the table and propping her head up with her hand, her heavy eyelids closing over every now and then despite her willing them not to, she was thoroughly exhausted, having spent most of last night replaying the scene in the hall, Harry was hearing voices, Mrs. Norris was Petrified, that message written in blood, his words, words she knew he meant. It didn't help that they shared most classes together, or that he always happened to be sitting near, or that she catch him looking at her when he thought it was safe. It was torture, one she complied to because she loved the little moments they shared that reminded her of how they used to be together. _Stop it_. She scolded herself, they'd only been friends for a few months, not even a full year, and yet she was thinking about him as if they'd be friends for a lifetime.

Draco sat to her right, a row behind Harry and Ron, beside Goyle, she had felt his eyes boring into her as she'd walked in, she wanted to squirm under his gaze, or hit him, or hug him or something but just sitting there unable to do anything about it was killing her.

"Pss! Longbottom!"

Hermione looked around to find Draco leaning towards her desk, avoiding her and staring at Neville, a smirk on his face,

"Heard those pixies had it in for you. Surprised you didn't faint like in Herbology. You didn't, did you?"

Poor Neville was mortified, he opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a stammer causing Draco and his friends to laugh,

"He wasn't the one who ran out the room _screaming_." Hermione put in bluntly, a serrated edge to each word.

The blonde Slytherin growled, his goons sobering up to give her a dirty look, well, with the exception of Blaise Zabini that is,

"Ooh, look, the filthy Mudblood's come to her boyfriend's rescue. How romantic!" he drawled sarcastically.

She looked away in annoyance before thinking of something and turning back to say it out loud, she stopped when she noticed Blaise was smiling at her now, really smiling, in a nice, friendly sort of way, it made her blush a little, smiling tentatively at him in return, she saw Draco's nostrils flare, and couldn't help but beam at the dark-skinned boy behind him, she loved the satisfaction of knowing she could annoy Draco Malfoy. His knuckles were white as he clutched onto his desk, watching his friend and former friend share a secret smile.

That was when McGonagall graced the classroom with her presence, the grey tabby made it to her beautiful desk before transforming back into their professor, she stood in her green robes, her hair in a tight bun atop her head as always, holding her wand like a cane as she touched it to the blackboard, the chalk began to draw a picture there by itself, explaining what they would be doing today. The ugly black and white bird sat perched on her desk, unmoving like Filch's cat the night before, she waited to see if there were any questions before touching her wand to the bird now, counting as she tapped the odd looking creature,

"One, two, three. _Vera Verto_."

The bird became a clear liquid before effortlessly turning into a stunning gold goblet, the class sucked in a breath of shock, unable to believe how easy the old woman made it look,

"Now it's your turn. Who would like to go first?" she said, descending the steps to walk the tiny space between the rows of desks, scanning her students, she decided Ron would go first, she pointed to him with her wand and repeated the instructions again, he nodded, eager to transfigure his rat Scabbers, tapping the pet three times he uttered the two words,

"_Vera Verto!" _a pathetic burst of green light fizzled from his broken wand, resulting in the poor rat being turned into a furry goblet with a still wagging tail, squeaking occasionally, the whole class laughed and groaned at the funny yet rather disturbing sight.

Ron picked up the rat-goblet thing and stared at it in horror,

"I'm afraid that wand needs replacing." Professor McGonagall stated, once again pointing at him with her own wand, he looked up apologetically, mumbling to himself something about be afraid for Scabbers.

Hermione raised her hand, unable to contain her muddled thoughts any longer,

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Professor...I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets." she said, uncertain but hopeful.

McGonagall hesitated, clearly concerned, but decided if she hushed it up the children may start looking for answers and they may get themselves hurt in the process,

"Very well." she sighed, "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age; Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and...Salazar Slytherin." Hermione didn't miss the distaste in her tone as she said the last, "Now three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously. One did not."

"Three guesses who." Ron whispered to Harry, to which McGonagall gave a slight nod, indicating she knew who he'd meant,

"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective of the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all magic families. In other words...purebloods."

Hermione caught Draco's gaze, it wasn't quite a glare, though not exactly concern, but she narrowed her eyes at him anyway,

"Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though shortly before departing he sealed it until that time when his own true Heir returned to the school. The Heir alone would be able to open the Chamber and unleash the horror within and by so doing purge the school of those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."

"Muggle-borns." Hermione said in a dejected tone, causing Draco to feel a stab of guilt, before he pointedly stared at the floor, though she was unaware of his reaction,

"Well, naturally the school has been searched many times." McGonagall continued, "No such chamber has been found."

"Professor? What exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?" the busy-haired girl asked, unwilling to let it go, McGonagall suppressed a reluctant sigh,

"The Chamber is said to be home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home...of a monster."

Hermione closed her eyes, willing herself not to turn around to see Draco's face, willing herself not to show her fear to him of all people, but it was easier thought than done, she looked at Harry first and waited until he turned away to allow her head to turn a little further towards the blonde Slytherin, his expression was a mirror of hers, then, as if realising this, he smirked, his whole posture more...serpentine, she supposed. As though he were enjoying this. She hung her head hopelessly, they were no longer friends, it didn't matter if the feeling remained, if she wanted him to care for her, he didn't and from now on he never would, his family had taught him to hate people like her and since their little spat he seemed all too pleased to be living up to the Malfoy name.

McGonagall dismissed the class early once she was satisfied they knew enough about transfiguring animals in goblets for one day, no doubt she was going to tell the headmaster that the children are already asking questions, Hermione could see the worry etched on her face as she collected her books and followed Harry and Ron out the door, ignoring Draco all together.

"Do you think it's true?" Ron asked, as they hurried down the corridor for their next class, not that they need to hurry at all, "Do you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?"

"Yes." Hermione replied, rather frustrated, "Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried. All the teachers are."

"But if there really is a Chamber and it really has been opened, then that means-" Harry began,

"The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts. The question is, who is it?" she finished for him.

Ron rolled his eyes as if she'd asked where to lavatory was, but she didn't notice, she was too busy staring at the blonde boy who was coming up behind them,

"Let's think. Who do we know who thinks all muggle-borns are scum?" he said sarcastically, as Draco passed them followed by his goons, she could tell something was up, he hadn't even bothered to purposefully budge into Ron or taunt Harry,

"If you're talking about, Malfoy-" she started loudly, hoping the Slytherin might turn around and say something to them, the fact that he didn't just proved her earlier thought that something was off,

"Of course!" Ron exclaimed, "You heard him. 'You'll be next, mudbloods.'"

Harry gave a slight nod in agreement before glancing at Hermione, to see her reaction, it was as though he were watching a Quidditch match, his head moving side to side every now and then,

"I heard him." how could she not? The words, so filled with hate, had kept her up most of the night. "But Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" she said incredulously, hoping to deter them from the idea of stalking him or something, but Harry just couldn't let it go,

"Maybe Ron's right, Hermione. I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries."

She saw the cogs in Ron's head lazily turning, heard the whirring before they clicked and the light that went on,

"Crabbe and Goyle must know. Maybe we could trick them into telling."

Hermione rolled her eyes, she knew enough about the pair from Draco to know that they were more like bodyguards, not friends he told his deepest, darkest secrets to. _She_'d been that friend up until a few weeks ago. Never mind that they knew if anything he'd told them got out then he would sort to it their lives from then on were utter hell,

"Even they aren't that thick." she said knowingly, "But there might be another way." she decided it was her turn to scheme against him. He had done it to her last year after all, earning her, Harry and Ron detention in the Dark Forest.

Besides despite the fact he hated her, that he had wished her dead, that he continued to call her _mudblood_ when he knew how much it hurt her, Hermione knew he wasn't involved in any of this, she needed evidence to prove to her friends that although he might be a bully -one who put her through agony on a regular basis by merely being around to remind her that they could never be friends again- he was not a...monster. They came to a halt in the hall, all facing each other.

"Mind you," she continued, "it would be difficult. Not to mention we'd be breaking about fifty school rules and it'll be dangerous. Very dangerous."


	14. Foul Play

Chapter 14

Foul Play

It was a cloudy day, but far from miserable, which only angered her more.

She had hoped all morning that it would rain or snow or something, for a brief moment she even hoped that someone might be Petrified so that Madame Hooch would have no choice other than to call off the Quidditch game, nothing of the sort had happened, she was still sitting with Ron in outer towers to watch the match, his rabbiting on about it didn't help matters, her stomach was already protesting at the nervousness that had come over her, she had always hated the sport, mainly because she was terrible at flying but partly because Harry sometimes got hurt, like last year, almost falling off his jinxed broom.

This year, though, Draco was playing too, it was their first match together and there was no doubt they'd fight and probably end up getting themselves badly injured or God forbid worse, she had seen the looks on their faces as they left their class that morning, the glares they sent one another, an unspoken threat between the two, they were enemies in rivalling houses with highly opposing opinions and no room for agreeing to disagree, not to mention Harry thought Draco was the Heir of Slytherin, he thought the blonde actually had it in him to attempt to kill every muggle-born in the school, she just knew today was going to go horribly wrong. She wanted Draco to suffer the bad feelings she got when she was around him because it would mean he missed her but she didn't want him to get hurt, especially not because of Harry.

Slytherin played ruthlessly, leaving them in the lead with ninety points, if things didn't turn around soon they would easily win, something Hermione wasn't too sure she was disappointed about, maybe it'd bring a smile to Draco's usually scowling face, he was frowning more than usual, calling her nasty things more often, laughing when Pansy pushed her around, she hated the person he'd become, she knew she couldn't have her friend back, she just wanted to see him smile again, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him smile properly.

He called something out to the dark-haired boy who threw him a dirty look, then suddenly a Bludger came at him, Harry expertly ducked to avoid it and watched as it flew back up in the air, clearly not listening as Wood told him to watch himself, instead he was staring at the ball, eyebrows raised and eyes showing too much white, he called to the other player to warn him when the Bludger collided with the end of Wood's broom, snapping it in half and causes him to spiral to the ground, the thing went for Harry then, chasing him around the pitch, attacking him as if the ball had a mind of its own. Hagrid stood, using his binoculars to see better,

"Blimey! Harry's got himself a rogue Bludger." he stated, shocked, before coming to the same conclusion Hermione had already, "That's been tampered with, that 'as."

"I'll stop it." Ron said, pulling his broken wand out, a determined look on his face, Hermione caught his arm as he raised it to aim at the Bludger still harassing Harry,

"No! Even with a proper wand it's too risky. You could hit Harry." she explained, turning back to watch her friend dodge another blow, desperately trying to get away as the thing smashed through the towers, bolting in his direction, he swerved around the rings on the pitch, she saw Draco pull his broom to the halt, a smirk on his lips, his eyes focused on the Boy-Who-Lived, when Harry managed to escape the Bludger, albeit for a few minutes, he took the opportunity to glare at him.

"Training for the ballet, Potter?" she heard him call in a taunting tone.

She noticed Harry's head snap up when he saw the Snitch flying around Draco's shoulder, before the Bludger returned, missing Harry by mere inches, Hermione felt as though her stomach were in her throat when it unintentionally hurled towards Draco, coming painfully close toward the aghast boy's head, she was just thankful he ducked in time. It continued to stalk Harry, coming at him from all angles, trying to smash into him, she watched with a horrified expression, her brow creased, she bit her lip but didn't realise that by now it ought to hurt, she was far too busy watching the game that had quickly turned into one of cat and mouse. Harry went in for the Snitch, sweeping past Draco with an outstretched hand, the blonde soon caught on and followed closely behind, easily catching up with Harry thanks to his new broom, he budged into the dark-haired boy, now in front, and reached for the gold winged ball, diving down into the foundations beneath the pitch, it wasn't long before she completely lost sight of both boys, the only indication of their presence being the occasional sound like thunder reverberating through the floor as the Bludger continued to plough into the wooden beams in an attempt to kill Harry.

Hermione felt sick, her breathing coming out quick and unsteady, where were they? They had probably been down there no more than two or three minutes but to her it was like hours, her palms were sweating, her heart pounding in her ears, they should have come up by now, suddenly she saw a flash of dark red followed by a flash of light green, another smashing sound was heard, Harry was in the lead, Draco brought up the rear with the Bludger on his trail, Draco shoved into him again and she lost sight of the pair of them, she looked away, unable to stare into that dark ring her two best friends had sank into, she knew Draco hated her but the feeling was in no way mutual, despite how much she wanted it to be and regardless of what he'd done and said to her.

Moments passed and still no sign of them, her stomach was in knots, she could taste it on her tongue, feel it in the back of her dry throat, if they didn't come up soon she was going to be sick, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

Then Draco was airborne, spiralling towards the pitch, his broom lost in the foundations somewhere, he slammed into the ground like a ragdoll being thrown across the room, Hermione let out a sound between a frail intake of breath and a small scream, leaning forward, she was blind to Ron's shocked stare, as if she'd grown two head's or something, she didn't care that she was supposed to despise the Slytherin, she needed to know he was alive, she watched as he clutched his stomach, he tried to sit up but failed, instead he lay on his back, forcing his lungs to work properly, but they were persistent and he let out a short, breathless cough that stung her ears, she stared as his bruised form was carried off by two sixth year Slytherins.

Harry was back, his arm injured by the Bludger, however he didn't give up, he grabbed for the Snitch and fell off his broom, like Draco he lay on his back, but whereas the other boy looked hurt, Harry just looked slightly defeated, he was no doubt exhausted,

"Let's go." she whispered to Ron as both them and Hagrid made their way down to the pitch, they hurried down the winding wooden staircases and out through the dark red curtain, that's when she saw the Bludger attacking Harry, it went for his limp arm and he rolled, then it went for his head, then up in the air again, she pulled out her wand, pointing it at the rogue ball, _"Finite Incantartum."_the Bludger exploded, glowing fragments fell like sparkling fireworks around Harry, who was now sitting and holding his right arm.

She, Ron, Hagrid and numerous others ran over to him, Hermione fell to her knees beside him,

"Thank you." Harry said, sombrely,

"Are you okay?" she asked, slightly worried, at least now the worst was over, at least she knew both her friends were alive,

"No. I think my arm is broken."

Lockhart sat the other side of Harry, opposite Hermione, a few months ago she would have loved to be this close to the author, now she didn't care and not just because Harry was hurt, the man was a complete fool in reality, he had left her, Harry and Ron to take of the pixies he released into his own class, he was clearly not the man he made himself out to be, which was why she knew this wouldn't be good,

"Not to worry, Harry." he said, in that smug, ignorant tone of his, "I will fix that arm of yours straightaway."

The fear was evident in Harry's eyes, not that she blamed him,

"No. Not you." the boy replied, trying to move away, Hermione was about to suggest it be left to Madame Pomfrey when Lockhart took hold of Harry's arm with his leather glove clad hands,

"Boy doesn't know what he's saying. This won't hurt a bit." he gently pushed Harry's sleeve up his arm, revealing the obviously painful snapped bone, Hermione winced, glad that she was not Harry right now, _"Brackium Emendo!"_, a white light burst from his wand, surrounding Harry's arm for a few minutes before dimming then vanishing completely, what was left looked no different, except that his arm seemed even more limp than before, but that wasn't possible, even Lockhart couldn't make a broken arm, well, worse, could he? Hermione soon found her answer that yes; Lockhart could always make things much, much worse.

* * *

Draco stormed down the corridor, angrily pushing past anyone in his way, how dare she? He was lying not two rows from Harry in that hospital wing and not once -not once!- did she so much as look at him, he wined and groaned to get her attention, hoping she'd understand how much agony he was in, he might have only bruised his ribs while her precious Potter had broken his arm but still! He didn't expect her to ask if he was alright but she should have at least acknowledged him! Filthy, disgusting mudblood! Ugh! He hated her. He had no idea what he'd first seen in her, she was far too arrogant, far too wound up in Potter, always following him around like a lost puppy, didn't she know she was better than that? Couldn't she see who really deserved her company?

Her pretty smile, her intelligence, her wit, her laugh, it was all wasted on that lowly little orphan boy who just couldn't seem to die! It didn't help that he'd lost to him either, why couldn't Potty's uncle -or whoever had the ability to tolerate him enough to let him live with them- just lock him in his room or something so he could never come back to Hogwarts, it would make Draco's live loads easier.

He rounded the corner towards the room where that idiot Lockhart would be holding his duelling club, an alternative to the usual Defence Against the Dark Arts class, then he saw her, stepping out of the girl's lavatory, grey trails of smoke licked at her heels, her face twisted into one of slight paranoia, oh yes, Granger was up to something and no doubt it involved Potter, Draco waited until the vast majority of their classmates had gone on before he grabbed her arm and, despite her protests, pulled her aside so they could talk, they might not have been friends anymore but that didn't mean she was allowed to scheme with Potter either, scheming was their thing, him and Granger, on the Astronomy Tower, sneaking around, laughing as they ran through the sleeping castle playing hide and seek, making Filch, who often heard them but never seemed able to find them, think he was going mad. Draco would not allow Potter to take his place.

"Brewing trouble, are we, Mudblood?" he demanded to know as she wrenched her arm out of his grip and glared at him,

"That's none of your business, Malfoy." she replied haughtily, he scoffed, smiling bitterly,

"Oh, that's right, I'm not Potty. Speaking of which I heard he broke his arm. Too bad it wasn't his neck instead."

She shoved him with the books she was carrying, pushing him into the opposing wall,

"I knew it was you that hexed the Bludger!" she spat, not giving him a chance to reply before she continued, "Well, you didn't do a very good job, considering that we won."

He sneered, suppressing a growl at her taunt, and straightened his robes, as if her touch had somehow soiled them, which was the far from the actual case, he missed her reassuring touch, but he'd never admit that, especially not to her, especially not now,

"You don't know anything, Granger. Besides it's not like _you_could do much better." he decided to brush off her accusation, after all it wouldn't matter to her if she was wrong, to her he was guilty the second he set foot on that pitch, "Filthy mudblood can't even fly!"

Her brows creased, she glanced sideways as if remembering something, he didn't need to have her say it to know what it was exactly. Those letters. His broken promise to teach her to fly.

He didn't know what she'd done to her letters now that they were sworn enemies, but he'd still kept his, he'd brought them with him to Hogwarts, at first it had been so that his father wouldn't find them, if he did he would surely pull Draco out of school and force him to attend Durmstrang, regardless of his mother's worries and it would certainly be better than this place, however there would be no Granger in that school.

He was glad he'd kept them close, because now that they were no longer friends, the only way he could really laugh anymore was when he read those letters, it was as if they were some kind of anti-depressant, he was often quite miserable, he couldn't talk to anyone about his troubles the way he had with Granger, but he found a diminutive flicker of happiness when he re-read some of his favourite letters from her, her neat writing, her babbling, the annoying way she always told him off for tormenting Dobby, he missed all that, he missed having a friend, it hadn't really hit him until he saw that look on her face how lonely he was now. Her absence had ripped a hole in his chest, a big one. He almost wished they'd never met.

Draco expected her to say something, to comeback with a self-righteous, pompous remark but she didn't, she merely stared at him for an all too brief moment before turning around and walking away.

He sighed and followed after her, pushing open the door to reveal a long and rather narrow room with steps leading up to a platform that sat in the centre of the class, Professor Snape stood at the far side, while Lockhart took centre stage as usual, his classmates all gathering around, the girls eagerly listening to the blonde professor. He positioned himself between Crabbe and Goyle, with Parkinson to his left, a little in front, from across the room he stared at Granger, she met his gaze and quickly looked away, turning her attention to Potter instead.

Draco Malfoy hated the stupid Scarhead for many reasons, particularly his ability to make Granger smile.

Something he lost that day on the train.


	15. Petrified

Chapter 15

Petrified

He hated her now more than ever. He hated the emotions caused by his favourite mudblood that had sent him into turmoil. He was angry that something so horrible could happen to someone so lovely. He was disgusted that the words he'd said to her only a few weeks ago had rung true. _You'll be next, mudbloods. _But most of all, he was sick with worry. He would never tell anyone, could never let them see him sneak out of his dorm at night and into the hospital wing where she lay, her big dark eyes void of anything, she was so completely lifeless that might as well have been a statue, because although she looked like Granger, everything that made her _her _had gone, as if the sculptor had captured her pretty features but forgotten all the things that made her really beautiful.

Her brows remained slightly raised, her mouth open in shock, the hand that had been holding the mirror was still outstretched, her slender fingers curving gracefully, the other hand sat unmoving like stone at her side, he was almost afraid to touch her, as if by doing so she would crumble to dust and there would be nothing left. Instead he pulled up a rickety chair and sat beside her bed, he did as he always did and just stared at her, so solid yet so vulnerable, he didn't like it, this feeling welling in his gut, making it's way up through his lungs into his throat, pressing down on him, suffocating him, he didn't understand what it was at first, then slowly realisation dawned, he didn't just like her anymore, he actually cared about her and he didn't just want her to be around, he _needed_ her to be. He let out a shallow breath as he set down an expensive box of chocolates his mother had sent him, they were his favourite but he thought that Granger would enjoy them more than he would _when _she woke up.

There was no 'if', it had to be 'when'. He didn't want to think about the alternative.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked her in hopeless exasperation, of course he didn't expect an answer, "I swear, Granger, it's almost like you want to get yourself killed. Don't you understand how much I hate this?" his tone became pleading, then angry, "You're an idiot, you know that? A selfish, pathetic bloody idiot! I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen. You never do. I don't even know why I bother."

Draco looked away, unable to stare at her immobile form any longer, it was as if she were dead and he just couldn't deal with that thought, what twelve year old boy would be able to? He thought he saw her hand twitch, but it was just a play of his imagination, she hadn't moved an inch in four days, she wouldn't until the Mandrake root was ready, he gave a small, sad smile remembering their Herbology class a few months ago, of course it wasn't like last years, they hadn't walked to class together, in fact he had barely spoken five words to her, the ones he had had all been insults, but he'd been unable to stop his trademark smirk tug at his lips when she spoke knowingly about the plant. She was so smart, she rivalled him in most classes, how could he not be proud? Besides she was rather cute when she was explaining something. Though he'd never say it aloud.

It was then he noticed the scrunched up ball of paper in her hand.

"What have you been up to now?" he half-groaned, finding himself curious, he gently took it away from her icy fingers, grimacing at the feel of her cold, marble-like skin, like a vampire's. Slowly, he unfolded the paper, discovering that it was torn on one side as though she'd ripped it from a book. He really had been a bad influence on her, hadn't he? Last year she wouldn't even think about going into the restricted section if he hadn't mentioned it, this year, she had gone of her own accord. A bookworm who desecrated books. It was almost ironic.

His stormy eyes scanned the lines and paragraphs of elegantly drawn letters, although very little of it made sense to him, he was halfway through when he realised it was the basilisk that was petrifying people, directly looking the thing in the eyes meant death, but no-one had died yet... thank God, he supposed.

First there was Mrs. Norris, he remembered the water on the floor that night and correctly assumed that the cat must have seen the thing's reflection. That blasted, annoying Colin Creevey was next, he'd seen it through his camera, and Granger...he looked at her, noticing the mirror on the small cabinet beside her bed, of course, she'd figured it out beforehand and prepared herself, maybe she wasn't so stupid after all, at least she knew how to keep herself alive, that was the important thing, he felt relieved for the first time that night.

The thing he couldn't figure out was how a basilisk would get through the school, surely someone would notice, then it hit him. The piping. He smiled faintly when he saw Granger had come to the same conclusion earlier as she'd written his exact thought on the bottom, right hand corner of the worn page.

Suddenly the sound of approaching footsteps seemed louder than his frantically beating heart, they drew closer and closer each moment that he sat there, gripping her hand in a death vice,

"You're still my best friend, Granger, and I know you have every right to hate me but I'm going to at least try and make it up to you. I promise."

He heard the hospital door opening and dropped to the floor, scrambling to get under the muggleborn's bed, he listened intently as Madame Pomfrey busied herself making sure all her patients had been tended to properly, his breath caught in his throat and threatened to strangle him when she stopped at Granger's bedside, he could see her feet clad in old-fashioned leather boots so close to his face, he stuffed the page into his pocket,

"Poor girl." he heard her whisper, "No doubt Mr Potter is taking this hard. From the way he behaves around you anyone would think he fancied you somewhat. Young love in bloom, is it? Or have you been meddling with love potions again?" the woman asked Granger, unaware of Draco's presence or that his breath was now coming out in hot, fast puffs as he tried desperately to control his anger. He couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out for himself, famous Harry Potter fancied Hermione Granger, how could he not? And why else would he always try to impress her in class? Why else would he stare at her the way he did? Stupid half-blood! "Well, I can tell you, Miss Granger, it's a messy business." Madame Pomfrey said before walking on towards another patient.

Draco eased out from under the bed and was about to sneak out when he saw the nurse coming back, he quickly rolled back under, he listened to her retreating footsteps as she headed back towards the door and waited to hear it close but there was nothing, he decided to see for himself, sliding out from under the bed once again and crouching down behind another, he peered over the top of the empty bed, he saw Madame Pomfrey talking to some, though his face was hidden, she nodded in a fierce agreement, gently brushing past him, Draco stared after the woman, sitting up a little straighter, hoping to get a better view of the mysterious guest, the man was all in black, with long, straggly dark hair obscuring some of his face, as he reached over to close the door the blonde Slytherin gasped, his own hand clasping his mouth as if he could take back the sound, Professor Snape's head snapped round, his eyes widening upon seeing Draco, the boy panicked and ducked, knowing he had been seen, knowing that any minute Professor Snape would come over and scold him, suggesting he get back to his dorm immediately.

Surprisingly, no such thing happened, there was a deafening silence that chilled the young boy to the core, but no berating voice, no pulling him up by the scruff of his collar, no yelling, nothing,

"I think Miss Granger will be alright." Professor Snape said to Madame Pomfrey who Draco had almost completely lost sight of, the only indication that she was still there was the muffled voice coming from the hall, "It seems that despite being the insufferable know-it-all she is, she does have a few friends, some of whom I doubt she even knows of."

Draco's blood was pounding in his head, much too loud for him to hear the hospital door being shut, he was sweating, his chest constricting in on him, Snape knew, he knew that he was here, he knew why he was here, he knew that regardless of how he often acted he did care about Granger. He gulped before he glanced up again, afraid they might still be there but knowing he had to make sure they were gone, and they were, thank god, with the door closed he felt safer, as if he could breath once more but only slightly, there was still the matter of his professor, his very own head of house, who had always disliked Granger and who was quite close to his father. The gut wrenching feeling was back, his brow furrowed as he stood over the still girl, staring at her, wishing she would move or do something, anything to remind him that she was real, that she was alive.

"See you later, Granger." he said, caressing her hand with his thump, with that he left, crossing the large room to the door and slipping outside, unaware that he had long since dropped the piece of paper explaining the basilisk. He hurried down the corridors, heading for the Slytherin common room that led to his dorm, he had made it up the many unpredictable staircases, to the ugly portrait of the grumpy old man who opened up for him, though not without complaint, and he half-ran down the steps leading to the centre of the dungeon like room, past Theodore Nott -asleep at one of the desks, his head resting peacefully upon a open book of monsters- and up towards the room he shared with all the other Slytherin boys, he lay on his small four-post bed, a sorry sight compared to the one he had at home, and stared up at the green silk voile that was draped over the wooden posts, lost in thought,

"Where were you?" a voice asked from the darkness of the room, Draco turned his head to find Zabini in a sitting position on his own bed, his legs crossed, a book on his bedside table, he was clearly wide awake and Draco already knew why,

"Thought I heard something." he easily lied, although the dark-skinned boy didn't believe him,

"You went to see Granger, didn't you?"

"And what if I had?"

Draco knew Zabini was too observant for anyone's good, there was no point in trying to hide it from him anymore, he just hoped that he wouldn't tell anyone, though the way things were going recently he wouldn't need too. Draco seemed to be slipping up a lot lately, especially when it came to a certain bushy-haired, bucked-toothed bookworm.

"Her parents are _muggles_."

"I know that!" Draco snapped, Zabini sighed, running a hand through his hair,

"Just be careful, mate. She doesn't belong in our world."

Zabini lay back and rolled over then to get some sleep, pulling the covers up over his head, Draco simply lay there, unable to move, as if he too were Petrified, what did he mean she didn't belong in their world? Was he saying she wasn't tough enough? That she wasn't cut out for the life of a Death Eater, whatever kind of life that may be? But this was Granger, she could take on anything. Or maybe...just maybe, he'd meant she was too good for their world, it was particularly the nicest of places, he had to admit. No, he knew exactly what Zabini meant. It wasn't so much that she didn't belong as she wasn't allowed. She had dirty blood, and people like her simply weren't friends with pureblood Slytherins like the Malfoys.


	16. Light and Darkness

Chapter 16

Light and Darkness

Her second year at Hogwarts had not gone at all like she'd expected. Of course she was happy there were no trolls, but the basilisk, and return of Lord Voldemort, this time a memory of his younger self known by his muggle name Tom Riddle, certainly made up for it, she'd also been Petrified for about a week, with no memory of anything that had happened during her lifeless state. And unlike last year she couldn't bring herself to smile at the thought of new beginnings or anything really, she'd always miss Hogwarts and magic and even the mad, dark adventures with Harry, although she knew she'd get those things back, it was the ones that she wouldn't that bothered her.

She made her way down the winding staircase that led to another long hall, the bright light beaming through the narrow windows and the occasional crack in the castle walls, lighting up the corridor with a soft white hue, she frowned as she pulled her trunk along, the singing birds and everyone's happy faces only making her more embittered, she wasn't happy, she was lonely, it wasn't fair that nobody cared about her enough to notice that one tiny thing.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Draco, Pansy and Goyle round the corner, Crabbe mysteriously absent, possibly still packing, from what she knew of the young boy he was terribly lazy, it wasn't their presence that caused her legs to falter though, it was the way Draco and Pansy were laughing together, as if he were no longer just tolerating her and actually liked her! But that was impossible, he'd said it himself, he'd have to be mad to like her!

It was Goyle who noticed her first, Draco and Pansy were oblivious to her, both too lost in their conversation, causing her to feel a pang of jealously,

"Mudblood." Goyle muttered, hiding it with a cough, but his remark fell on deaf ears, Hermione was too busy trying rid herself of the feeling, she half-wished she was still Petrified, at least then she wouldn't be forced to witness Draco seem perfectly content with that horrid girl,

"Oh, look," Pansy said, coming to a halt in front of a dumbfounded and hurt Hermione, "it's the toad!"

Hermione ignored her remark too, gazing at Draco, those blue-grey eyes had changed, the once open book had be closed, he was deliberately shutting her out, she wasn't allowed to know his thoughts anymore, she wasn't allowed to know _him_. Hermione fixed her eyes on the suddenly captivating stone floor and pressed on, trying to get the image of Draco's smiling face out of her mind, she hugged her books to her chest with one hand, the other still pulling her luggage, her vision began to blur as tears welled in her eyes, she bit her lip and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, all she'd have to do was make it to the train, then she wouldn't see him for another two months and hopefully by then she'd have forgotten about it. Though she highly doubt it, that nagging voice in the back of her head told her that Draco Malfoy was a very, very hard act to follow, even Harry Potter couldn't compare to him in that way.

She was about to step out the front entrance, down the small set of steps and make her way to the station when someone or something caught her arm, she spun around, not bothering to force a smile despite knowing it could easily be someone undeserving of her mood, but to her horror it was the one person she did not want to see right now, or ever again if she could get away with it, the look on his face was one she couldn't decode, she could only assume that something had irreparably changed him. He remained silent, slowly, almost reluctantly letting his hand fall to his side and just stared at her,

"What is it, Malfoy?" she asked, sounding tired, he opened he mouth to say something, thought better of it and closed it again, he blinked a few times in what seemed to be confusion and scowled, as if he were fighting with some kind of internal battle,

"Here." he said, trusting something at her, when she looked down she saw it was a bunch of envelopes tied together with a piece of torn green silk, her frown deepened as she glanced from him to the letter and back again, he rolled his eyes and shook his hand, rudely indicating for her to take, she did, albeit uncertainly,

"I...I don't understand." she stuttered, "These are yours. Why are you giving them to me?"

He heaved a sigh in obvious annoyance,

"Because, Granger, I don't want them."

She continued to give him a blank expression, her face oddly contorted in rare confusion, his own expression darkened, becoming increasingly angry,

"I thought Dobby had gotten rid of them already but apparently not. Do whatever you like with them, I don't really care."

Hermione found herself fighting to reign in the tears that were threatening to topple over any second, she tried to swallow the hard lump in her throat but it was no use, she watched him from beneath her now damp lashes, she saw nothing in his beautiful features and without another word he walked off. Her world had slowed. Everything hurt. He had poured salt into every wound she'd ever endured. The tears trailed down her cheeks, her whole body shaking, through neither sobs nor anger but simply through shock.

She walked and walked, not really seeing anything in front of her, she didn't feel it whenever a Slytherin would budge into her, she didn't hear the sound of her classmates' laughter, Hermione Granger was lost, suddenly the world made no sense to her, she couldn't help but wonder what was the point to all of this or if there was a point at all, she wondered why people were the way they were, what it was that made them like that, what it was that caused others to like them, she had no idea why she liked the blonde Slytherin, at first it had been because he was smart and didn't find talking about books for hours on end to be a tedious topic, later she discovered that, although most people thought otherwise, he was very funny, she had liked that he seemed to understand her moods better than she did herself, she had liked that he could effortlessly brighten her day, but it was nothing in comparison to all the bad things he'd done and said to her. But even now she still cared about him.

This only made her temper worse, she stormed out the castle and quickly caught up with Hagrid and McGonagall who were escorting the other children off the grounds and towards the station, the giant raised a thick eyebrow as she passed him, knowing something was off, he opened his mouth to ask what was the matter, but she was gone before he managed to voice even the first word, she walked briskly, angrily to the train, she didn't bother to wait for Harry or Ron to climb aboard.

Hermione took a seat in an empty cabin, a part of her hoped that nobody would come in there, even her friends and she scolded herself for wanting to be alone when they had been nothing but terribly nice to her since they'd met. Still she couldn't help than to wish they wouldn't sit with her, after all they'd only ask her what was wrong and anyway what was she supposed to tell them? That Draco Malfoy had hurt her feelings again? No, she would not do it, she would not make herself sound any more weak or pathetic than she already felt, she would simply ignore the blonde haired bully and get on with her life.

Deciding not to think about the matter anymore, she pulled out a book from her bag, it was one her father had given her for her birthday, it was a muggle book, about Norse mythology, something she had been interested in before learning she was a witch, she'd fallen in love with it the moment she read the first two lines, the author clearly had a way with words, she didn't care that she could have been reading something from Flourish and Blotts. It was a book. What more could she ask for?

Harry and Ron entered the cabin, taking their seats opposite her as they usually did, she didn't bother looking up from her book as she greeted them both, pretending to be too engrossed in her book, though that wasn't the case, her thoughts had reverted back to a certain blonde haired Slytherin when the cabin door had been slid open and her heart had leapt around hopefully, only to be disappointed to find her two best friends. Hermione scolded herself again for being so rude.

"Well, aren't you just awfully happy today?" Ron commented sarcastically, Hermione looked up then and stared at him for a while, wondering if her down trodden mood was that obvious, but then she merely rolled her eyes, she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, flipping the page,

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked in a much softer tone, for a brief bitter moment she did think about telling them everything, no doubt it would annoy the pair of them to no end, however she knew it wouldn't make things any better, only worse, so instead she gave the first small smile she had all morning,

"It's nothing, Harry." she replied, her smile faltering, she couldn't keep up the act for much longer, feeling as though it might crack her face, it hurt to smile when she felt so absolutely horrid inside, "I suppose I'm just going miss it here."

Ron scoffed,

"It's only two months, 'Mione. We'll be back before you know it."

"A lot can change in two months." she said, Harry nodded in agreement, giving a slight shrug, "A lot can change in two minutes."

She let her head fall back down to her book, she saw the words, she knew what they were, what they said, but she understood none of them, her muddled thoughts were giving her a headache and for the first time in her life, she found she didn't want to read, she closed over the book and glanced out the window,

"Don't worry, you won't get rid of us two that easily." Ron grinned at her, she smiled back and continued to watch Hagrid say his farewell to the other students, there was one boy he said nothing to, instead he gave the blonde a warning look, to which Draco laughed at as he stepped onto the train, followed by Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Blaise.

Hermione turned her gaze to the two boys sitting opposite her, now talking about Ron's sister, who had been possessed by Voldemort to write those messages on the wall and open the Chamber, Harry was asking if she was alright and Ron was trying to reassure the other boy.

She reminded herself that neither boy was Draco Malfoy, that unlike him when they said they wouldn't leave someone then didn't.

Unlike him, they didn't make promises and then change their minds


	17. The Dementors

**A/N: More Harry in this one. Because the rivalry between him and Draco makes more sense if there's a girl involved. Don't worry though there's still loads of the cocky git we all love!**

* * *

**Year Three: The Prisoner of Azkaban **

Chapter 17

The Dementors

Her summer had been ghastly. Alexa, her only remaining muggle friend, had moved away, her parents had spent most of their time working, leaving her alone in the house with only her cat to keep her company. She'd stayed in her room for the majority of the time, having nothing else better to do than re-read possibly every book she owned, studying profusely, occasionally she would venture outside her house, but she found London to be terribly boring without even one friend to accompany her.

She was considerably more moody than last year, something her parents eventually picked up on, they were forever asking her was she alright, had she been bullied, was she not looking forward to going back, such questions only served to annoy her further, reminding her of the arrogant young boy who had nonchalantly given her back the letters she had spent hours writing, hoping they might cheer him up. She wasn't sure why but she had kept them, maybe she was just unable to throw them out knowing that he had read them at one point. Now they were tucked in a small shoebox under her bed and they would be left there until she decided whether or not she was going to rip them up.

The worst part was that after a year of having him call her some of the nastiest, most vile names, having him wish her dead and treat her like an insignificant insect, she still thought about him. She had thought that by now she would have forgotten about him, she would have realised he was not worth her time, but that was far from the case. If anything it had gotten worse, instead of hating him more, she missed him, she dreaded returning to Hogwarts just as much as she longed to go back so she could see him again, see if he'd changed, she certainly had, though she doubted he'd notice, after all wasn't that what caused their fight last year? Him being so blinded with his petty rivalry with Harry that he barely noticed how much effort she'd put in to look nice for him. How childish she'd been!

She had easily reverted to her old attire of jeans and sneakers, no skirts this year, she had also cut her hair, whereas last term it had been a few inches off the small of her back, now it barely made it past her shoulders, it was still quite bushy and she missed having it long, but at least it was easier to manage now.

"Come on. Everywhere else is full." Hermione said, opening the door to the already taken cabin, inside was a sleeping man, hidden by his long black coat which he used as a blanket and had pulled over his face, revealing only a few tuffs of dirty blonde hair. A bottle of what looked to be alcohol sat at the window sill.

The three began to quietly put there things away as not to wake the sleeping man and took their seats,

"Who do you think that is then?" Ron asked, rather rudely Hermione thought,

"Professor R. J. Lupin." she replied in her no-nonsense tone,

"You know everything! How is it she knows everything?" Ron turned to Harry, who had just finished struggling to put his luggage in the overhead compartment and finally sat down, seeming intrigued to know the answer himself,

"It's on his suitcase, Ronald." she pointed to the man's luggage, slightly annoyed by her friend's obliviousness to everything around him,

"Do you think he's really asleep?" came Harry's deadly serious tone,

"Seems to be." Hermione said, uncertain, not sure what he was getting at, "Why?"

Harry looked at the stranger once more, sucking in a breath, he stood and closed the cabin door,

"I've got to tell you something."

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked, concerned,

The Boy-Who-Lived sat down again, he seemed anxious, impatient, almost fidgety as he explained to them what had happened the other evening when he caught the Night Bus and the rumours people believed about a certain murderer. An hour later, they were still talking about it,

"Let me get this straight; Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban...to come after you?" Ron said, looking both confused and a little scared,

"But they'll catch Black, won't they?" Hermione didn't know if she was trying to reassure Harry or herself, "I mean, everyone's looking for him."

She was scared for her friend, who, ever since coming to Hogwarts, seemed to draw in trouble, a serial killer was the last thing any of them needed this year. Voldemort was gone. She had hoped that this year they might have a normal term, one where she didn't have to worry herself sick over her two closest –well, her _only_- friends. Hermione told herself she was over-reacting. The Ministry wouldn't just let a convicted madman go walking around, now would they? Of course not. Black would be caught and that would be the end of it.

"Yeah." Ron said, with false enthusiasm, "Except no-one's ever broken out of Azkaban before...and he's a murderous, raving lunatic."

"Thanks, Ron." Harry mumbled, sarcastically.

Suddenly the train began to slow, a piercing screech was heard as the train ground to a halt,

"Why are we stopping?" she asked, failing to keep the trace of fear out of her voice, "We can't be there yet."

Harry silently stood to open the cabin door, looking to his right, the train jolted, throwing Harry back into his seat and causing the cabin door to close,

"What's going on?" Ron exclaimed,

"I don't know. Maybe we've broken down." Harry tried to reason, although it sounded less like a statement and more like a question, he looked round for some other sort of sign that this was purely a mechanical fault.

Then the lights went dead, Hermione looked up, her frown deepening with worry, a cold sweat began to creep down her back, she didn't like this one bit, something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"Ouch, Ron. That was my foot."

She turned to find the boy looking out the steamed up window, his hand on the pane of glass as he tried desperately to see outside, she couldn't decide whether she wanted to look or not, she realised not when his voice came out panicked,

"There's something moving out there."

The light came back on then and despite everything she was slightly relieved, some people may have thought it cowardly to be afraid of the dark, Hermione merely thought it practical, it left you blind, vulnerable, anyone or anything could creep up on you, it the muggle world it wasn't as bad, people were usually clumsy and reckless, but here there were all sorts of monsters that were as silent as the grave and more than willing to put you in one. Sirius Black had escaped the highest security prison known to all wizarding kind, she doubted he would find it difficult to enter a train unnoticed and kill anyone of them.

Soon the lights began to flicker and it was dark once again. Hermione's heart was pounding in her chest,

"I think someone's coming aboard!" Ron let out a shrill whisper.

Another jolt of the train and it rapidly got colder, the temperature dropping dramatically, Hermione gasped, her big, dark eyes wide with fear, she could see her breath and feel a shiver run through her, but whether it was from the cold or something else she couldn't tell. She looked round to find the window freezing over, Ron's hand still stuck to it, whatever was in the bottle on the sill turned to ice, Harry rubbed his hand together to try and keep warm while she hugged herself.

A third jolt of the train and Ron jumped, pulling his hand away from the window and cornering himself into his seat,

"Bloody hell! What's happening?"

Harry shook his head to say he didn't know and looked around at the sleeping stranger, who seemed unfazed by the sudden chill or the constant jerking of the train.

Out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw a shadow creep up to their cabin, as it neared she saw it was a cloaked figure, with seemingly no face, making its way to their door in a ghostlike manner, she could no longer control her breathing, fear getting the better of her, but the one thing Hermione told herself she would not do was scream. She was Hermione Granger, she did not scream.

The trio watched in fearful silence as the thing reached out with a skeletal hand and without touching the door itself, with merely twisting its hand in a strangely ominous way, the door opened, Hermione recoiled as it entered the cabin, staring at the three of them, it did something then, it opened its mouth and she felt all her happy memories being snatched away by the ghostly figure, like it was somehow tearing at a piece of her soul, it somehow did the same to Harry and Ron without moving an inch, she could see a blur around them, it sucked the happiness out of them as it did her.

She began to feel as though there were no reason to live, everything she had loved was taken away, nothing mattered anymore, there was only fear and pain, hatred and loss, apathy and loneliness, then more pain, no-one cared for her, not really, she found no reason to care about them either, life was pointless, she would die eventually, everyone would, did it really matter if it was now or in five years? In ten years? Why had she bothered trying so hard to please everyone? To do her best in every subject? It would all be for nothing, it might hurt her parents if she died tonight on this train, but they'd soon forget as everyone did, they'd move on, as she had after her beloved grandmother passed away. And even if she did escape, if she somehow became the world's greatest witch, come a few hundred years and no-one would know, they may vaguely recognise her name but she would be long gone, along with everyone she cared for. Why had she not realised this before?

Images flooded through her mind, each one more agonising than the last.

There was burst of white light and the thing was gone, followed by someone screaming, it was only when she opened her eyes that she realised it had been her, the once sleeping man was now standing, his wand pointed at the door, a peculiar look on his face, Ron sat unmoving and silent in the corner, well, he would have remained unmoving had his hands not been shaking so fiercely, Harry was passed out on the seat, and when she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, her fingers connected with wetness on her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" the stranger, Professor R. J. Lupin, asked both herself and Ron, Hermione nodded and looked towards her conscious friend, who was staring blankly at the opposing seat, she nudged him and he blinked before nodding himself, "Nasty things, Dementors." Lupin continued, "They'll steal away all your happy memories. Leave you only a shadow of your former self if you're not careful."

Hermione swallowed hard, remembering the last, most painful memory she'd been left with; Draco Malfoy laughing with Pansy Parkinson, sneering at her when he caught her looking their way.

She could not imagine what kind of lonely, embittered person she would become if she was plagued with those dreadful thought and _that_ image forever. She didn't want to imagine what it would be like to live with that for the rest of her life.


	18. Buckbeak

**A/N: Happy Easter everyone. RxR**

* * *

Chapter 18

Buckbeak

If there was one thing she was thankful for this term it was that Draco Malfoy had stayed away from her, he still tormented Harry, though he almost completely ignored her now, instead he spent most of his time with Pansy, or so she'd heard.

She still thought about him on a regular basis, it didn't matter that there was possibly a barking mad killer coming to Hogwarts, dangerous enough that Dementors had been brought in to guard the school, it didn't matter that Harry might have had the Grim, an omen of death, or that she knew one day she would have to deal with the consequences of meddling with time. No, of all the strange things that were happening this year, her train of thought would always lead her to Draco.

He had changed so much over the summer, he was taller and such, there was more shape coming into his lean frame, his shoulders broader, hinting at the beginnings of muscle, his face was much less boyish, more masculine, his hair no longer sleeked back, instead it was left to hang loose in front of his eyes, making him look slightly dishevelled and a thousand times more attractive.

She hated him for being so good looking, for being so witty and charismatic, it was as if God or whoever had wanted to punish her for letting him ruin their friendship, she knew now she'd been a fool to ever want to be friends with him in the first place. She also knew that whatever feelings she had for him, other than hate, grew each time she saw him.

Now was no different.

It had gone beyond simply missing his presence, now it was as though nothing in her world was right when he wasn't around, but then again, nothing was ever really right when he was around either, still she'd rather have the latter than the former.

Hagrid, their newly appointed professor, led them into the better part of the woods, which was thankfully nothing like the part of the forest they'd served detention in back in their first term.

It was a light open space, surrounded by a tiny worn brick wall, the tall trees were the loveliest shade of green, they weren't menacing like in that other part of the forest, the birds chirped happily as they flew above their heads, it was beautiful, peaceful and Hermione could easily see herself coming here to study or even just to think.

"Right, you lot. Open your books to page forty-nine." Hagrid said,

"Exactly how do we do that?" Draco bit out, glaring at his Monster Book of Monsters, which seemed to have a volatile temper,

"Well, stroke the spine of course. Goodness me!"

Hermione saw Draco pull a face at the professor, he gave a grunt in annoyance as he began to stroke the spine of his book as everyone else did. Unfortunately for Neville, he had already opened the book and the thing attempted to attack him, little bits of paper flew up in the air as he fell to the floor.

"Don't be such a whimp, Longbottom." she heard Draco call to Neville, she didn't need to look at him to know he was laughing, she rolled her eyes in disgust, was he always such a bully? If so, what on earth had she seen in him?

Hermione debated whether or not to tell him to leave Neville alone, she decided against the idea, thinking if she stayed out of it, if she ignored Draco, he would continue to show her the same courtesy. She said nothing as she set her book down on the rock, giving Neville the faintest of smiles, she hoped he would understand her silent apology for not standing up for him, she knew she ought have but sometimes Hermione felt it was good to be stay out of it. Not to mention she honestly didn't feel up talking to Draco at all this term.

She turned to Harry and Ron,

"I think they're funny." she stated matter-of-factly, talking about the Monster Book and seeming to have forgotten to put any humour in her voice,

"Oh, yeah." Draco drawled, mockingly, from where he stood, half-leaning against a tree across from them, Hermione grimaced and suppressed a sigh as she turned round to face him, "Terribly funny. Really witty. God, this place has gone to the dogs. Wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this fool teaching classes!"

Draco looked thoroughly repulsed by the idea of Hagrid being a professor, while Crabbe and Goyle were laughing, Hermione looked away for a moment then back at the him, she knew Harry had caught her dejected expression and it was clear he was angry, not only had Draco insulted Hagrid, he had also gotten to her –_again_. Harry had become a tad protective of her as of late, no doubt it was due to the bitter turn her mood had taken over the summer.

"Shut up, Malfoy." he warned, glaring at Draco as he gently pushed past Hermione to stand in front of him,

"Ooh!" the blonde and his goons teased, Draco swaggered over to Harry and for a second Hermione thought they were going to fight, she clenched her fists, ready to step in between them, when she noticed that Draco wasn't even looking at Harry, he was staring up, behind everyone, he looked scared, backing away from something,

"D-dementor! Dementor!" he called, pointing upwards, she spun around in horror to find nothing there before turning back to Draco and his goons, each of them had pulled their hoods up over their heads -with the exception of Crabbe that is, who, like most of the other students, had taken off his black robe. Draco and the other Slytherins continued to make eerie ghostlike sounds and stretch their arms out somewhat like zombies.

Hermione ground her teeth as she remembered the evening on the train. _Stupid git_. She thought bitterly, he had no idea what it was like to be at the mercy of a Dementor, he had no idea how horrible it was. She grabbed Harry's arm and turned him away, pulling a snide face at Draco, who only raised his eyebrows at her and laughed.

"Just ignore him, Harry." she murmured, sounding tired.

Hagrid coughed loudly, earning the class' attention, and opened his arms out wide, presenting the large horse-like bird with bluish feathers,

"Isn't he beautiful? Say 'ello to Buckbeak." Hagrid said, explaining to the class what exactly the creature was. Hermione smiled, she had read about Hippogriffs numerous times but up until now she had never seen one, she had to agree with Hagrid though, he was lovely, "Now, the first thing you want to know 'bout Hippogriffs is they're very proud creatures."

Hermione knew that already, even if she hadn't been such a bookworm, it was easy to see Buckbeak thought highly of himself, he was a strong beast with the ability to seriously injure or perhaps kill anyone who mistreated him, with that kind of power, who wouldn't be a little full of themselves?

"You do not want to insult a Hippogriff." Hagrid continued, "It may just be the last thing you ever do. Now, who'd like to come say 'ello?"

Although Hermione thought the creature was beautiful, she did not particularly want to be the first to go and pat it or God forbid ride it, she was bad enough on a broom, everyone knew that. So like the rest of her classmates she edged away wearily, when Hagrid turned back to face them Harry was the only one left standing in his original place, she felt a pang of guilt not pulling him back with her,

"Well done, Harry." Hagrid praised him for being brave, when really it was just that he hadn't thought to step back like everyone else, "Right. You 'ave to let him make the first move, it's only polite. So, give him a nice bow and wait to see if he bows back. If he does you can go and pat him, if not...well, we'll get to that later."

Hermione watched as Harry did what he was told, slowly walking up towards the Hippogriff as not to offend him and bowing low, Buckbeak tilted his head and began to flap his wings, shrieking, Harry backed off, accidently stepping on a twig and snapping it, Hermione let out a shaky breath, her hand flying to her mouth as if to stop her from yelping. Hagrid warned Harry to keep still and eventually Buckbeak came around, bowing elegantly.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid repeated and tossed a dead ferret at the Hippogriff, "I think you can go pat him now."

Harry looked up, uncertain but moved closer to Buckbeak. It was then she felt someone budge into her and turned to see Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all pushing everyone aside to get a better view, he glared at another student before his gaze found her, he smirked at her as he bit into a green apple. They were his favourite. Whether because they were his house colour or because they tasted better she didn't know.

Hagrid warned Harry not to be so hasty just as Buckbeak snapped at him, hearing Draco laugh, Hermione bit her lip and took a step towards them, clenching her fists, she couldn't stop the fear welling in her chest, he was going to get hurt if he wasn't careful, the Boy-Who-Lived slowed, not wanting to irritate Buckbeak further and eventually the Hippogriff let him get close enough to stroke him.

Hagrid encouraged everyone to give Harry a big round of applause and they happily obliged, a smile broke out across Hermione's features when their professor picked a panicked Harry up and set him on Buckbeak's back, Hagrid gave Buckbeak a light smack and the bird reared back, running towards the space, about ten feet or so from where she and the others stood, before taking flight, along with many other classmates, Hermione ran over to the edge of the wall to watch Harry ride the Hippogriff, staring up at him in awe.

She turned back to give her professor a big grin, he was clearly suited for this job, the giant looked down at his feet and mumbled something awkwardly under his breath.

"Let's hope that ugly bird drops him in the lake or something!" Draco said, loud enough for her to hear but not Hagrid, Hermione turned to glare at the blonde,

"What's the matter, Granger? Don't you agree?" he taunted, "Oh, I forgot you fancy him, don't you...? _You and the great Potter_." he spat, disgusted, causing the other Slytherins to laugh as he walked over to her until he was no less than three feet away, towering over her by more than a head, she stared up at him defiantly, her eyes narrowed,

"Sod off." she muttered, unable to bite her tongue any longer.

He sneered at her, opening his mouth to say something and closing it again as if thinking better of it, but she wasn't going to let him back out of it now,

"Say it. Go on, I dare you." her voice was surprisingly calm for someone so angry,

"Filthy. Little. Mudblood." he said the words dangerously slow, emphasising each and every syllable, Hermione drew her fist back but Hagrid caught them,

"That's enough of that you two. I don't want to 'ave to go givin' you detention, Hermione. Besides, young ladies don't fight, now do they?"

Draco laughed at that last part, flinging his head back as though it were hysterically funny,

"You're not honestly calling_ that_ a lady, are you?"

"One more word, Malfoy, and you'll be gettin' detention yourself." Hagrid said, shaking his head at Hermione as she raised her fist again, she rolled her eyes and lowered her hand, Draco went to sit on a rock, next to Crabbe and Pansy, who stroked his arm, smiling at Hermione as she watched in disgust.

It was then that she saw Hagrid look up and followed his gaze, Harry was back, a grin on his face as Buckbeak glided in and out of the trees before landing and galloping over to their professor, again there was a round of applause, despite feeling Draco's eyes on her, Hermione smiled and wolf-whistled at Harry, suddenly Draco was off his feet,

"Oh, please!" he ground out, making his way over to them, pushing two Slytherins out of the way in the process, Hermione scowled after him, wondering what the hell he was doing, "Yeah. You're not dangerous at all, are you? You great, ugly brute!"

"Malfoy, no!" Hermione managed to yell before Buckbeak raised up on his hind legs, wings outspread, bringing his claw down to connect with Draco's arms, he fell back, clutching his arm and writhing in pain. Hagrid got the Hippogriff away by throwing another dead ferret his way, still the damage had been done.

"Ah! It's killed me! It's killed me!" Draco whined,

"It's alright. It's just a scratch." their professor tried to reassure the boy,

"Hagrid!" Hermione ran over to them, slightly worried despite herself, "He has to be taken to the hospital."

Hagrid nodded, effortlessly picking Draco up of the dirty ground, Hermione thought she saw the boy smile,

"I'm the teacher, I'll do it."

"Oh, you're going to regret this!" Draco said as Hagrid dismissed the class, "You and you're bloody pigeon!"

Hermione shook her head hopelessly.

Really, what was Draco's problem? Did he honestly like being such a nuisance? Did he like ruining everything for everyone? Did he like having everyone hate him? She doubted it. But she couldn't understand why he had to go and offend Buckbeak like that, the only possible reason would be that he was annoyed Harry had won the Hippogriff's trust and if that were the case then his jealousy had gotten very much out of hand.


	19. Are You Afraid?

Chapter 19

Are You Afraid?

Draco growled as he pushed open the door to his Defence Against the Dark Arts class to find Granger missing, it wasn't often she was late for class, but at least Potter was here and he knew that so long as she wasn't with him then she was probably safe, after all death loved the stupid orphan boy, unfortunately it never got_ Potter_, just everyone else around him.

He climbed the steps, standing next to Crabbe and Goyle, with Parkinson not too far away, his injured arm in a light blue sling, while his other hand he stuffed in the pocket of his trousers, listening to the professor who he found very little fault with except for the fact that he was too friendly, especially towards Potter. Couldn't people see he was poison?

_That awful, horrible, vile, pathetic, lowly, disgusting mudblood!_

Granger might have suggested he be taken to the hospital but that was it! She had never once come to visit him, she had never asked was he alright, it wasn't the first time he was hurt and she hadn't given a damn either. He'd gone to see her every night when she'd been Petrified, he'd only stopped when Snape had found out and of course Zabini had done the honour of reminding him they could never be friends. Point was if she was hurt he'd still go and see her regardless.

Alright he'd only visit her of a night when everyone was asleep or show her he cared when no-one was looking but either way he'd be worried! He wouldn't be able to just prance about with Parkinson like she was doing with Potter, all happy and joking!

It was one of the many reasons he'd decided to milk it, make his arm out to be much worse than it actually was, he hoped she would eventually show some concern for his wellbeing but so far she'd done no such thing, although he was getting more attention from Parkinson, which would have been great if the ever-irritating girl had managed to make Granger jealous, she hadn't, meaning that he was having to suffer not only a badly torn up arm but also Parkinson's horrid voice and there wasn't even the constellation prize of pissing Granger off because he was spending so much time with a girl he knew she despised!

He was quite the accomplished actor but, unfortunately, that didn't mean that Draco found it easy lying to himself, he knew he'd developed feelings for her, ones beyond mere friendship, he wasn't sure when exactly it had happened, he'd noticed she was pretty the beginning of last term but he hadn't really, well, fancied her then, at least not like he did now...

She'd cut her hair. He'd noticed the very second he'd seen her, he'd preferred it long but this way he could see it was actually curly and not a frazzled mess, it was still bushy, just not as bad. He'd also noticed she'd gotten taller, but then so had everyone, however not everyone had legs like hers, she started to get curves too.

Well, he was a boy after all.

None of it mattered though, he was constantly crossing the line, he just wished she could see it was to get her attention, to be able to talk to her, to hear his name on her lips even if she said it as though it were a dirty word. Lately her reactions were always the same, whereas at one point she would have returned the favour and called him every possible thing she could think of –and there were quite a few things, mind you- now she would simply give him a cold glare and ignore him, he supposed she'd decided not to let him get to her anymore, he couldn't really blame her, he had made her cry the last time when he'd given her those letters. He hadn't wanted to give them back, or hurt her like that, and wouldn't be surprised if she'd angrily torn them up or something. It had had to be done, he couldn't let her go on with some sort of false hope, thinking they might be friends again one day. It wouldn't be fair.

Guilt quickly took over, numbing the ache in his arm and creating a new ache in his chest, but he shut it out, he'd gotten even better at compartmentalising his emotions over the summer, partly due to Granger's absence as his friend. He replaced the guilt with more anger, reminding himself he ought to be furious with her.

"Intriguing, isn't it?" Lupin asked, talking about the old wardrobe that kept jerking from side to side as if something inside it wanted out, "Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside?"

"That's a Boggart, that is."

"Very good, Mr. Thomas. Can anyone tell me what a Boggart looks like?"

"No-one knows," he heard Granger's voice come out of nowhere. When had she gotten in here? He hadn't seen or heard her come in, apparently neither had that Oaf she was for some reason friends with, "Boggarts are shapeshifters." she continued, "They take the shape of whatever particular person fears the most. That's what makes them s-"

"So terrifying, yes, yes, yes." Lupin finished for her, obviously impressed, Draco found himself smirking, Granger really was the brightest witch he knew, even if she _was_ a mudblood, "Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let's practice it now. Without wands, please."

Although Draco should have been listening he found himself staring at Granger, she had tied her hair up and he had to admit she suited it, she suited most things.

Don't you dare think it changed anything though! He was still angry she hadn't so much as even given him a sympathetic look when the bloody bird attacked him!

"After me._ Riddikulus_."

Unlike the rest of the class, Draco didn't bother to repeat after the professor, instead he kept his eyes on Granger, watching her from the sidelines as she spoke the charm she was clearly familiar with,

"Very good. A little louder and very clear. Listen..._Rid-dik-ulus._" Lupin said, pronouncing the word slowly,

"This class is ridiculous." Draco muttered as the other students repeated the charm again, louder this time, Crabbe nodded in agreement and once again Draco found himself glancing at Granger, who was oblivious to his gaze, as usual, he bitterly rolled his eyes and grudgingly turned his attention back to Lupin.

"Well, so much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a Boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume the shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain, er...Mr. Longbottom, would you join me a moment, please?"

Longbottom looked around the room nervously before resigning himself to whatever fate it was and making his way over to Lupin,

"Hello." the professor said quietly and rather awkwardly too, "Now, Neville, what frightens you most of all?"

The cowardly dark-haired idiot mumbled something under his breath, low enough that even Lupin had to ask him to speak up,

"P-professor Snape."

"Professor Snape." Lupin laughed gently, "Yes. He frightens all. And I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Yeah, but I don't want that Boggart to turn into her either."

Draco let out an exasperated sigh as the wardrobe gave another jerk. Why did they have to start with Longbottom? He was afraid of everything, at this rate they'd never get out of this God forsaken classroom.

"It won't." Lupin assured, "I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes. Very clearly in your mind."

"She wears a green coat-"

Lupin shook his head,

"We don't need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now when I open that wardrobe here's what I want you to do." the professor took a step closer to whisper something in Longbottom's ear, the boy's eyes widened, "Can you do that for me?"

Longbottom nodded and took out his wand, and with a wave of his own wand Lupin opened the door, out stepped what looked like Professor Snape being his usual miserable self, he walked towards Longbottom slowly,

"_Riddikulus!" _the boy called out feebly, suddenly Snape was wearing the most hideous thing Draco had ever seen; a green fur trimmed coat, a black hat with some kind of nest and dead bird on top and tatty, old ladies boots.

The entire class laughed, the only thing Draco found amusing about it however was that Longbottom's gran actually wore this monstrosity. For a moment he almost felt sorry for him.

"Marvellous, Neville, marvellous!" Lupin praised, "Right. Everyone form a line."

Draco pushed his way closer to the front, right behind Granger, he didn't particularly care for this class, but that didn't mean he didn't want to be one of the first to get a go. Besides he was a Malfoy, he didn't come last. Granger glanced around to see what all the fuss was about, why everyone kept budging into her and when she saw him standing there she gave him the coldest of stares, before turning away. His scowl deepened.

"I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most and turn it into something funny." Lupin said, as he turned on the old-fashioned record player which instantly began playing an upbeat, jazzy type of song, "Alright, next. Ah, yes...Ron."

It was common knowledge that that Oaf feared spiders the most, so it was no surprise when the Boggart turned into an oversized Black Widow, he grimaced, backing away before he'd even pulled out his wand. And he was supposed to be a Gryffindor for crying out loud!

"Wand at the ready." Lupin reminded him,

"_Riddikulus!" _the spider struggled to stay upright with the dark red roller-skates now strapped to its eight feet, there was another eruption of laughter,

"Excellent!" Lupin commended loudly, "Absolutely, very, very enjoyable! Next! Hermione!"

Granger moved forward, biting her lip in uncertainty, her wand already out in her hand, she looked down at the floor once, then back up and the Boggart changed again. He'd have thought it would be a basilisk. He'd prepared himself to stare into the face of the serpent that had left her cold and lifeless for nearly a week, that had caused him to lie awake most nights with worry, so it was quite a surprise when the Boggart took on the form of Professor McGonagall.

Draco was unable to contain a bemused snigger. Was everyone in this school afraid of they're teachers? McGonagall was a grumpy old hag but she wasn't exactly terrifying! He came to the conclusion that Granger was seriously backwards.

"I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in you, Miss Granger." McGonagall said in complete disdain, her tone venomous, Granger winced, "You failed everything! It's clear that you've been neglecting you're studies! Then again you are just a _filthy mudblood_, perhaps you were doing your best."

His laughter ceased. Another wave of guilt hit him, forming a lump in his throat and a painful tightness in his gut, after everything she'd seen, after the horrors she'd faced, it was the thought of failure that terrified her most, she was so damn insecure, so breakable, and he'd played a big part in making her that way. Draco had never hated himself as much as he did then, he could hardly stand being in his own skin, his flesh crawled with self-loathing. He was a prat.

"Keep your nerve." Lupin encouraged to a wide-eyed Granger, who's breathing had become uneven, she seemed unable to look at McGonagall long enough to conjure any kind of charm, Draco watched as she sucked in a breath, closing her eyes to concentrate and apparently no longer listening to McGonagall's rant, instead she was mumbling something to herself,

"_Riddikulus!" _her voice was firm but it was clear she was shaken by the Boggart's words. Soon the thing transformed into a fat grey tabby wearing McGonagall's glasses and a terribly ugly, horrendously frilly wedding gown, with big puffy sleeves and a white veil, the cat meowed, reaching its paw up to scratch its ear in annoyance at the big garish purple flower on its head.

Again the class burst into laughter with Lupin applauding Granger and telling her not to worry about failing her studies, to which she thanked him and smiled weakly.

Draco had found himself laughing slightly too, ignoring the bewildered look on Parkinson's face or the glare Goyle threw at him,

"Looks awfully like Crabbe's cat, doesn't it Goyle?"

The tall, curly haired boy turned away from him muttering something under his breath, Crabbe glanced at the cat once more and laughed,

"Hold on," Goyle said, realising something, "how would the mudblood know about that?"

"Who knows?" Draco replied, smirking, maybe Goyle wasn't so thick after all.

Draco didn't hear Parkinson ask him what it was they were talking about, he was too lost in thought to either notice or care, he silently wondered why Granger had chosen the story he'd told her in first year to counter attack the Boggart. Either way it was nice to know it was _his_ story she found funniest of all the stupid jokes Potter had probably told her.

"Right. Next, Draco!" Lupin called from where he stood by the record player.

He groaned as he made his way up towards the Cat-Bride, not even sure himself what his worst fear would be, he thought of quite a few things before unintentionally settling on one, the Boggart quickly took the form of none other than Lucius Malfoy, causing a audible gasp around the room,

"Draco..." his father began in an icy tone that sent a chill down his spine and caused his palms to sweat, he heard the blood pumping through his veins, like a facuet that had been left on full, the noise giving him a headache, "How many times must you be told? Now, I don't care if I have to beat it into you! You intolerable creten! You will never ever let that filthy, little mule creature Miss Gra-"

"_Riddikulus!" _Draco snapped, glaring at the Boggart whilst it morphed into a jack-in-the-box clown with a white face and red cheeks,

"Er, very good." Lupin said, tentatively as he stared at Draco, a peculiar look on his face, "Now, who's next? Let's see...ah, Harry, of course. Er, Draco, a word, please?"

The blonde Slytherin rolled his head in annoyance, aware that Granger was looking at him with such intensity he wanted to yell at her, but he refrained from doing so and instead crossed the room to stand beside his professor, Lupin opened his mouth to speak when he heard Potty's sharp intake of breath and seeing the Dementor went to stand in front of him and banish the Boggart to the wardrobe. Effectively ruining what would possibly have been a therapy session, something Draco did not need at all.

At least Potter was good for something.


	20. A Grudge Between Friends

Chapter 20 

A Grudge Between Friends

It was their second trip to Hogsmead in a month, not that Draco minded, he was more than happy to be out of school and away from Lupin, who -ever since that horrible Defence Against the Dark Arts class- had tried to speak with him in private every chance he got, Draco was in no way interested in having a therapist, especially not someone who was also his professor, especially not _that_ professor.

He had tried and failed miserably to brush off Parkinson's constant touching and unwelcome flirting, eventually he'd told her to piss of. She had gone off somewhere in a huff, leaving him alone with Crabbe and Goyle to explore the small and rather tatty village.

First they had gone to Honeydukes, mostly at Crabbe's request, then they'd visited the Three Broomsticks, and after a while they'd headed towards the Shrieking Shack, since they hadn't gotten to go the first time around. The Shack was located a little ways off a country road, outside a small woods, not far from the train station, it was an old, dilapidated building, said to be the most haunted in all of Britain, it was surrounded by a large acre of land and a rickety wooden fence. And, along with everything else, was covered in about five inches of snow as usual.

He was slightly surprised to find Granger there, and with the Oaf of all people, she was leaning against the large wooden post of the fence, staring after the Shack, her back to Draco, while the Oaf was sitting on the fence itself, facing them, however he was too busy listening to her to notice Draco or either of his goons approaching.

Draco had to admit she looked rather nice today, dressed in a thick brown duffle, jeans, sneakers, a purple scarf and a light blue woolly hat. Quite the contrast to his all in black attire, the only colour he had on him would have been his new grey Cossack, which his mother had had flown all the way over from Russia by broomstick, it was by the famous wizard designer, Peeter Gorchakov, there were only two made, it's twin belonged to the greatest seeker in the world, consequently Draco's greatest idol. He wondered would she notice it. Would she spot the fancy signiture on the hat?

Although he was pleased to see Granger, Draco would have been much happier to find Granger _alone_ rather than with that good-for-nothing, penniless trash. How could she want that thing's company as opposed to his? Honestly, he felt quite insulted.

"Do you want to get a little closer?" he heard her ask, to which that Oaf looked at her with wide eyes, clearly the idiot thought she'd meant something else. Ha! She may have been a mudblood but she had standards for crying out loud. "To the Shrieking Shack, I mean." she amended,

"Oh." the Oaf replied, awkwardly, blushing a little before recovering from what he had thought was an invitation, "Nah, I'm fine here."

Draco, Crabbe and Goyle made it down the small snow-covered hill towards them. He did think about letting that awful Oaf make more of a fool of himself than he already had, the look on his face would keep Draco laughing for days, really, he couldn't actually think Granger would be interested in him, could he? And although he would have loved to have the Oaf try to make a move on her just so he could break his hideous face, he decided to step in, like the Slytherin Prince he was.

"Well, well, look who's here." he drawled, not bothering to keep the amusement out of his voice, the Oaf looked up from where he was sitting and pulled a face the same time that Granger spun round, her eyes darkening.

"Shopping for your new dream home? Bit out of your price range, isn't it?" he said, snidely, obviously addressing the Oaf but his eyes lingered on Granger a moment too long, wanting to see was she impressed by his wit as she had once been, she merely looked down at her feet not saying anything, it was then he graced the Oaf with his steely grey orbs, "Don't your family sleep in..." he paused for dramatic effect, "One room?"

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy." he replied, defeated, hopping of the fence and taking Granger's arm, about to leave, this caused Draco's anger to flare. How dare he touch her?

"Ooh. Not very friendly. Boys, I think it's time we teach this mongrel how to respect his superiors." Draco grinned, smugly fixing his jacket. Crabbe and Goyle behind him cracked their knuckles.

Granger laughed, stepping in front of the Oaf and putting her fists up in front of her, her perfect stance an indication she knew how to fight properly, something he'd noticed in their Care for Magical Creatures class. When had she become so violent? She'd always been brave and a tad tempermental but never had seemed...well, eagar to fight physically. There was pure loathing in her eyes. He would have been afriad of her had the hurt and anger not been smothering him.

"Hope you don't mean _you!_" she said, insulting his status.

He felt a stab of pain at her words, which he quickly shut out, leaving only the anger, he would make her realise what a stupid little girl she was,

"How dare you talk to me?" he snarled, unable to keep the next few words from slipping out despite his efforts, "You filthy little mudblood!"

It was then that something hit him in the side of the face, and no, it wasn't her fist, it was soft and cold and crumbled when it connected with its target, Draco looked to his collar to find a heavy dusting of snow there, Granger and the Oaf stood just as dumbfounded as himself and his goons, he glanced round in the direction the snowball had come to find no-one there, he staggered backwards,

"Who was that?" he demanded to know, another snowball came at them, seemingly out of nowhere, hitting him square in the chest, then there was another and another, firing themselves of their own accord at them. Crabbe backed away, knocking into Draco, who pushed him off angrily,

"Don't just stand there!" he scolded, "Do something!"

"Like what?" Goyle asked, shrilly, as his hat came down over his eyes, and Crabbe's trousers dropped to his feet revealing an ugly pair queen-of-diamonds underwear and causing him to trip and fall to the icy ground, Draco's head darted from side to side in a panic as Goyle's scarf was suddenly pulling him, spinning him round in circles.

Draco began to walk backwards, eyes frantically searching for the culprit but there was no-one, his foot collided with Crabbe who was struggling to get up and pull his trousers up, Draco lost his balance and joined the overweight boy on the floor. The ghost or whatever it was that had Goyle had discarded him, leaving the boy sitting in the ground, trying not to throw up, the ghost then grabbed Draco's feet, pulling him along the snowy path, he screamed as it dragged him towards the Shrieking Shack. _Oh, God!_ He thought, his pulse racing. _It's going to kill me! _

Finally the thing let go of him, he didn't know why nor did he care, he was free, he wasn't going to be brutally murdered in the Shrieking Shack by a ghost, his body so badly mutilated that it would never be recognised, that he would never be found! He got to his feet, albeit ineptly, and ran away from the Shack towards the exit of clearing, he didn't need to see the big grin stretched across Granger's face, he could hear the laughter, she found this hysterical! He was about to be murdered! _Murdered!_ By a ghost! And she was laughing?

"Get out of the way!" he yelled, bumping into Crabbe, who was still trying to get his trousers from around his ankles.

Draco ran up the hill, with Crabbe and Goyle following closely behind, he glanced round to see Granger's face one last time before he ran away, she was standing with Potter and the Oaf, both her and the Boy-Who-Refused-to-Die were laughing so hard they clutched they're stomachs, the Oaf looked shocked.

"I'll get you for that, Potty!" the blonde boy growled quietly, clenching his teeth. He wouldn't put it past Potter to find a way to make himself invisible. Too bad he couldn't do them all a favour and make himself disappear.

He left the woods with Crabbe and Goyle, the three making their way to back to the place they were supposed to meet Professor McGonagall, which was like any other part of town, a long, narrow, cobble road with a few benches here and there, sat next to Georgian-style buildings that sold magical items. The road was full of teachers and classmates also awaiting for the remaining students, some sat examining their new trinkets and whatnot, whiles others stood in large groups talking loud enough to give him a headache.

Draco found Parkinson standing with a group of Slytherin girls. Despite his earlier dismissal of her, She seemed pleased to see him and insisted on fussing over him, brushing the snow off his expensive jacket and asking about his arm, which was now out of its sling, he did like the attention, he just wished he would get it from someone else.

That someone soon arrived with a miserable looking Potter and that Oaf. Draco watched them from where he stood, leaning against a black lamp-post.

They sat on one of the benches, with Granger in the middle, her brow was furrowed, her mouth turned down at the corners, she kept throwing Potter worried glances. Draco sneered. Poor Potty, what was wrong with him now? He doubted it was anything of importance.

Draco caught Granger's attempt to cheer Potter up at his expense, reminding the dark-haired boy of Draco's stunned face, Potter only smiled back weakly. His embarrassment from earlier had finally set in and there was nothing he could do about it, not that he didn't try, he did, but it was stubborn, it melded with his foul temper, only serving to soil his mood further.

He scowled as her hand slid into Potter's and she murmured something to him, had it been anyone else, Draco would have pointed and laughed and sang that Potter had finally found a girl who could tolerate him, but as it was Granger, he found himself becoming pretty pissed off. Then something occurred to him. He smiled at Parkinson as she told him about the lovely silver locket she'd seen, angry she couldn't buy it because her parents hadn't given her enough money, although he knew they'd given her just as much his own parents had given him, and they'd given him quite a bit, however unlike most people Draco understood the compelling urge to have only the finest things.

"I'll just have to buy it for you myself then, won't I?" he said, sounding both arrogant and rather sweet.

"Thank you, Draco." she replied, taking his arm in hers, her smile widened when he didn't protest to the contact.

Granger might not give a damn about him but that didn't mean that he was just going to give up trying to make her jealous.

Parkinson _was_ relatively pretty, he supposed, although she didn't even come close to Granger, that's not what mattered, she would be good for him. Still it wasn't in a Malfoy's nature to settle for second best and that's what Parkinson was. Second. Had Granger been smart enough to be born a pureblood, there would be nothing and no-one that could pull him away from her.

"I can't believe anyone would find that attractive." he heard Potter mutter from across the platform.

Parkinson had rested her head on his shoulder, his arm snaked round her waist as she pondered out loud what she ought to wear with the locket, but he was only half-listening as he found himself too intrigued by the Golden Trio's conversation instead.

"Huh? Malfoy? Or the other one?" the Oaf asked, nodding towards Parkinson,

"Either. Both." Potter replied, staring down at his feet, when he looked up to find Granger looking uncomfortable and fidgeting with her dark pink gloves, "Mione? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, without once turning her head to either face her friends or look Draco's way, a smirk tugged at his lips when he saw her take a deep breath, glancing around impatiently and huffing when she saw they weren't to leave just yet,

"I think they're both pretty ugly myself." the Oaf said feebly, he was certain it would have done the lowly piece of scum good if Draco had be able to follow through on his earlier threat, at least then he'd know when to keep his mouth shut!

"Yeah." Potter agreed, "Not to mention Malfoy's rude, irritating and a complete pain in the arse."

Draco had had enough, he clenched his fists, Potty needed to be taught a lesson, he moved to make his way over to them and beat some respect into the pair of self-righteous idiots, with or without Crabbe and Goyle, but he was too late. Suddenly Granger was standing, her chest rising and falling, her cheeks flushed a crimson that had nothing to do with the cold, the two boys shrank back, allowing her to tower over them,

"Stop it! The both of you! I'm fed up hearing about Malfoy! That's all you two ever talk about so just stop!"

"H-Hermione? What are you talking about?" the Oaf stammered, his hands up in surrender, Potter, on the other hand, got to his feet, earning the attention of most of their classmates, much to Draco's amusement,

"After all the things he's said to you? After all the things he's done to us? You're having a go at _us_?" it was anyone's guess that Potter was outraged,

"What?" she asked, much softer, tucking her hair behind her ear, something Draco knew she did when she was nervous, "No, of course not! It's just...I don't understand why on earth you two bother giving that...that..._maggot_ the satisfaction of talking about him."

Draco's smile faltered, his jaw set, his blue-grey orbs hardened, the knife -the one had been there since the beginning of second term, since she left him, since she had screamed at him that she hated him- twisted again, he let his gaze drop to the icy ground, fearing his emotions may get the better of him if he looked at her,

"Oh..." Potter said, dumbly, before sighing, "Sorry, I guess I'm just-"

"Angry about Sirius Black, I know." she replied, both apparently having calmed down from their minor outbursts.

The gates opened, McGonagall tried to get the students to form a line, quietly, of course they did everything but, especially the Slytherins, who were taunting the Golden Trio as always.

Draco slid his arm around Parkinson's shoulder, allowing her to lean into him, he wasn't unaware of Granger staring at him, he could feel her gaze on him, it had to be her, she was the only one that made his skin tingle by just staring at him, she was the only one that made him vulnerable by just being there. And he was tired of it. She clearly didn't want anything to do with him and that was just fine, he couldn't be arsed with her anymore either.

Draco hated not getting what he wanted, so he simply decided not to want it anymore.


	21. Loathsome Little Cockroach

Chapter 21

Loathsome Little Cockroach

Hermione folded her arms across her chest and followed Harry and Ron through the courtyard, which was considerably more eerie today than ever before, she threw a death glare at the executioner, all clad in black with a mask revealing empty eyes and rotten teeth, sitting on a stone bench, he sharpened his scythe, the image was more menacing than she'd ever imagined it would be, but then she imagined this type of scene in the hills surrounding Azkaban, an insane murderer waiting in his cell for the blow that he would never wake from. Not on the school grounds. Not when the victim of such horror was anything but violent. Dangerous, perhaps. But in no way a killer similar to Sirius Black.

She stormed down the wooden walkway that adjoined a small darkened porch, her heart was pounding with so much force she thought it might break through her ribs, blood thumping in her head, her knuckles ached to hit something, to break something. If _he_ was allowed to destroy something, why not her? She suppressed a feral growl, fists clenched so tight her fingernails dug into her skin, far too irate to feel anything, let alone the slight sting her nails caused her palms, Hermione tried not to think about _him_, becoming more angry with every passing second.

"I can't believe they're going to kill Buckbeak!" she said, indignantly, her rage not just evident in her eyes but in the way she moved, like a predator ready to tear its prey to pieces, "It's just too horrible."

"It just got worse." Ron replied, pulling a face, as they exited the porch.

Standing there, by a stone pillar, binoculars pressed to his face, was none other than the very person she wanted to rip to shreds. His name tasted vile on her tongue even if she hadn't spoken it, she refused to do so anyway, fearing her rage may eat her alive if she did. Hermione was ignorant of the concerned look Harry and Ron exchanged, she'd been oblivious to most everything after hearing Buckbeak's execution would be at nightfall today.

"-Father said I can keep the Hippogriff's head..." she heard the twisted humour in his tone and, before she realised what she was doing, she half-ran down the few steps and down the grassy bank towards the three boys. Well, if that's what you could call them. Personally, she felt '_monsters'_ was a more apt term.

"Look who's here." Crabbe was first to notice her, causing Draco to turn, a grin on his face, she had never wanted his absence as much as she did right then,

"Ah, come to see the show?" he asked, happily, arms open wide, like he were royalty expecting her to bow!

"You!" she spat furiously as he took a step towards her, she pulled her wand from out of her jean pocket, "You _foul, loathsome, evil_ little cockroach!"

Draco backed up to the pillar, the tip of her wand pressed to his neck, he closed his eyes, winching and whimpering pitifully,

"Hermione, no!" Ron protested half-heartedly, "He's not worth it!"

She stared at Draco, her breathing ragged, her jaw set, her nostrils flaring, her eyes glaring at the blonde boy whose face was contorted with fear, despite feeling murderous, despite wanting to be rid of him, she knew she couldn't, she couldn't live with his existence tainting the ground and everything else beneath him, but she doubted she could live without it either, or whether it would be called living at all.

Look at what she'd become because of him...and that was merely because he'd tossed her aside like an old, broken chess piece rather than treated her properly like the friend he'd claimed her to be.

No, Hermione Granger didn't want to live in a world without Draco Malfoy, but that didn't mean that right now she didn't want to hex him, her pity and mercy for him was long gone.

But as it was, Ron was right, it would probably only make things worse, the last thing anyone needed was Lucius Malfoy demanding to know why his horrid son had been cursed by a mudblood, no doubt he'd find a way to play the story to his advantage. A talent he'd clearly passed on to Draco.

She begrudgingly lowered her wand.

His eyes opened and he looked down to find her wand no longer trained on him, she turned away from him in disgust, feeling sick to her stomach staring into those eyes that she'd once thought were so lovely, a thought crossed her mind, but only when she heard his laughter did she act on it. Hermione spun round, satisfied at hearing the _crack_ her fist made when it connected with Draco's face. Effectively, from the sounds of it, breaking his nose.

"Malfoy, are you okay?" Crabbe asked, him and Goyle helping the blonde to stand, Draco's mouth hung open, he reached up to touch his nose, finding blood,

"Let's go!" Goyle said, as the three ran up the hill, Draco glanced back at Hermione, the look on his face a clear indication that it hurt –_a lot_.

"Not a word of this to anyone, understood?" he managed as they exited through the walkway past the porch.

Hermione stood there for a moment, completely numb, she couldn't believe what she'd done, suddenly she was overcome with a feeling of power and relief, she turned to Harry and Ron, who were both smiling at her,

"That felt good." she admitted sheepishly, feeling awkward under their pleased gazes,

"Not good. Brilliant." Ron said,

"It was wicked." Harry put in, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled back, finding his touch to be rather comforting, especially with what they were about to face.

And all because Draco had to be an attention-seeking, good-for-nothing, spoilt little git with no backbone! She couldn't fathom why she had spent all summer feeling miserable because they'd fallen out, she couldn't fathom why she had bothered to care for him when he'd actually go as far to get an innocent creature killed knowing it would hurt her or why, at one point, she'd preferred Draco's presence to anyone else's.

Hermione followed Harry and Ron down the hill towards Hagrid's hut, where Buckbeak was chained up outside, she almost wanted Draco to come back and taunt them further so she could hit him again!

Of all the things he'd done to them, this was by far the worst.

* * *

Draco sat on the hospital bed as Madame Pomfrey tended to his broken nose, for once he remained silent as she worked her magic -excuse the pun- only winching when it really hurt, he didn't know whether it was the potion she'd given him or if he was still in shock from what had happened, but either way he felt pinned in place, he couldn't move, he couldn't feel anything, what he had felt up on that hill was replaced with emptiness. He supposed this was what it was like to fall victim to a Dementor, he'd read that they sucked the happiness out of you, forced you to feel only pain. Granger could do that too. Except she was worse than any Dementor he'd ever seen. Because, unlike them, she took everything, good and bad, leaving him feeling hollow and almost ethereal, like a ghost, like he was already dead.

He didn't answer when Madame Pomfrey asked him what happened, Crabbe and Goyle said nothing, knowing full well he'd kill them if they did, and he continued to ignore the woman as she prattled on, ranting about how he always managed to upset someone enough to cause himself an injury or something like that, he would grunt occasionally in both agreement and disagreement at her words, but although he heard everything she was saying, very little of it made sense, it was as though the words left her lips and entered his head all muddled. Not that he had the will to care what she had to say anyway.

"Malfoy!" Goyle nudged him, Draco snapped out of his trance, lazily turning his head to stare at the nurse and his two followers, as he liked to call them,

"What?" he asked, apathetically,

"You may leave now, Mr. Malfoy." Madame Pomfrey said in her no-nonsense tone, "Come back tomorrow and I'll have something for the pain but otherwise...I'll need what little of the wing I have left."

He noted that only three of the beds were occupied. Including his.

"Oh." he mumbled, slipping off the bed "Yeah."

Draco grabbed his jacket and made his way to leave the room, Crabbe and Goyle gaped at him, eyes bulging in disbelief,

"Er...Mr. Malfoy, are you certain you're alright?" Madame Pomfrey said, tentatively, he turned to look at her, the door half opened as he stared at her with dead eyes.

He had never understood what dead eyes were until nearly an hour ago when he caught sight of his reflection in the glass cabinet that held all the Quidditch trophies. They weren't glazed like they usually were in class when he found something tedious or dim like they were when he was too tired to care about much, they were dead eyes, his mischievous gleam gone, his arrogant glint gone, his evil shine gone, leaving his entire face almost unrecognisable to even himself, it made all his physically attractive features seem insignificant and dull.

The reflection had scared him, it was bad seeing that kind of look on someone else's face -as he assumed anyone would have had a look like that had something dreadful happened to them- but to see in on his own face after something so diminutive, it was pretty pathetic...and terrifying.

"Yeah." he replied, eventually,

"Well, it's just you usually make quite a fuss and you've been awfully quiet this whole time." her voice held a serrated motherly edge as it always did,

"So?" Draco didn't miss the confused and concerned looks pass between Crabbe and Goyle,

"How about you stay here for the night?" Madame Pomfrey put across as she prepared a bed for him,

"Yeah." Goyle said, "You're not acting like yourself."

"Lookin' pale too." Crabbe nodded profusely.

He was always pale.

"No. It's alright. I think I've had enough of these hospital walls for one year."

The three stared at him, gobsmacked, he was taking this far too well, which was how they knew something was off,

"Well, then, suit yourself." the nurse caved in and busied herself again, while Crabbe and Goyle hurriedly crossed the space between them, Goyle gently slammed close the half-open door and cornered Draco in the very same movement, eyes searching his face as though waiting for Draco to suddenly realise what a great opportunity he had.

"You're not going to let her get away with that, are you?" Goyle voiced the thought that was evident on his face probably before the taste of the words even graced his tongue.

Draco knew very well how easily he could have gotten back at Granger, he would simply have to complain a little here and there about the pain that stupid, volatile, mudblood had caused him, claiming she was both emotionally and mentally unstable, and his father would see to it that she was expelled. The thought was all too tempting. Like a fudge cake topped with cream, with a thick drizzle of chocolate sauce, was tempting to Crabbe. The problem was though, just like with the cake, the result would make him sick. It would mean hurting her, loads more than he already had and he honestly didn't think he could do that, though whether it was because she would hate him more or because he would hate himself more, he didn't know.

"Yeah." Crabbe agreed, "At least hex her or something."

"I'm not going to hex her." Draco rolled his head in sluggish exasperation, he was too tired to even bother putting more bite to his words,

"Oh, right, you want us to hex her." Crabbe corrected himself,

"No." the blonde said quietly, "Nobody's going to hex Granger."

"Then what are we going to do?" Goyle asked, turning to the fatter boy, "Beat her up?"

"What?" anger finally creeped into his voice and the feeling was more than welcome, "No, I don't want you beating her up either! Christ's sake, Goyle! Just leave it, alright?"

"But, Malfoy-" Crabbe began,

"_Piss off!" _Draco growled, thoroughly fed up, as he opened the door again and stalked down the corridor, at first he had decided to go to his common room and maybe read a book or something to take his mind off things, but then he realised Parkinson would likely be there. So he headed elsewhere instead.

Draco hadn't realised the other day just what he was getting himself in for by using Parkinson in a frail attempt to make Granger jealous, he hadn't known how deep that rabbit hole was, he ought to have thought it through, of course Parkinson would now think that he liked her in the way she did him, he didn't, that he fancied her, he didn't, that one day he'd loved her. He wouldn't. There was only one girl he wanted. The ache in his nose, the blood stains on his fingertips, the feeling in his gut. All of it was a reminder that he could never have her. Mainly because she'd made it quite clear she loathed his very existence.

He plopped down on the Astronomy Tower, running a hand through his hair, tousling it, a trait he'd picked up from Zabini, her words etched into his skull, her dark eyes so full of hate, not the jaded sort that people often said but rarely meant, this was real hate, the sort of hate that tore nations apart, that drove people to kill.

She had only backed off because she knew it would cause trouble for the school if she'd hexed him and his father found out. Granger had the pleasure of meeting Lucius Malfoy before, she hadn't exactly taken kindly to him then. Not that he blamed her. His father was a bastard.

Draco had milked it of his own accord to get attention, he was going to stop but his father had convinced him otherwise, bribing him with tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, he'd also realised afterwards that he wouldn't have to do much work for a few weeks, meaning he wouldn't come second to Granger in class as he didn't participate and henceforth his father would have no excuse to beat him with his cane as he usually did.

Draco hadn't meant to get Beaky –or whatever it was called- executed, he had merely intended to make people notice him as the victim instead of the bully, to get Granger's sympathy, to give the bruises left by his father time to heal. But all he had done was get some overgrown pigeon put to death.

He hoped it was worth it.


	22. Of Whomping Willows and Revelations

Chapter 22

Of Whomping Willows and Revelations

Hermione sucked in a breath, trying and failing to fight back tears as they stood atop the hill, staring down at the executioner, who made his way out of Hagrid's hut, scythe in hand, and made his way over to poor Buckbeak. _It isn't real._ She told herself. _It's a nightmare, one you're going to wake up from right now. _She bit her lip, hoping the pain would jolt her awake –it didn't. The executioner raised his blade and mercilessly brought it down on the Hippogriff's neck, slicing through muscle and bone. Hermione shut her eyes tightly as Buckbeak's head began to roll, she felt numb, all her anger, the grief, the shock, was gone, the world around her seemed to disperse until the only feeling that remained was the icy chill against her skin that had nothing to do with the late January breeze.

The tears toppled over, her body trembled, she turned to Harry and sobbed into his chest, her hands around his neck, he hugged her back fiercely, as did Ron, they stayed like that for a moment before Ron let out a yelp and Scabbers fell to the ground, scampering off.

"Ow! He bit me! Scabbers?" he exclaimed, as if it were most impossible thing in the world, chasing after the tiny rodent,

"Ron?" Hermione pulled away from Harry, staring after the auburn-haired boy, "Ron, wait!" she called as she ran after him, while he was frantically searching for his blasted rat, Hermione and Harry followed him up the hill, coming to a halt when they saw Ron sitting on the grassy bank, holding Scabbers firmly in place while he scolded the stupid animal that had led him into a death trap, he was no less that eight feet away from the Whomping Willow,

"Harry, you do realise what tree this is?" she said halfway between a statement and a question, he looked up and she watched the horror cross his face,

"That's not good." he muttered, "Ron, run!"

Ron looked up, seeming slightly confused, then his eyes widened and for a second she thought the realisation might have dawned but instead he pointed behind them and screamed,

"Harry, Hermione, run!"

She frowned, vividly remembering her Care For Magical Creatures class where Draco had done more or less the same thing purely as a joke, she knew Ron wasn't messing around, though she highly doubted this day could get much worse. Besides what could it possibly be this time? Another troll? Another basilisk? Voldemort couldn't be back from the dead a third time, that would be ridiculous. Hermione spun around to find a snarling black dog with piercing gold eyes that seemed to somehow glare at them with a lust for blood.

"It's the Grim!" Ron yelled from behind them as their eyes widened with fright, her chest tightened as the dog came bounding towards them, her lungs failing her, causing her breath to catch in her throat, she wasn't one to succumb easily but she saw no way out of this one, its razor-sharp teeth would no doubt rip them limb from limb quite easily, she fearfully waited for the moment when those teeth would meet flesh, for the pain that would follow, but nothing happened, instead the dog leapt over both her and Harry, and growled ferociously at Ron, who's face was that of what a muggle would look like had been forced to face Voldemort themselves. It was a look of pure terror. The Grim clamped its mouth around Ron's foot and began dragging him towards the hole at the base of the Whomping Willow, leaving a trial of his blood behind,

"Harry!" Ron cried, one hand reaching out to them while the other still had Scabbers tucked under his arm, "Help!"

"Ron!" Harry jumped in a frail attempt to clasp his hand, but the Grim was too fast and soon Ron was dragged into the darkness of the tree base, Hermione quickly helped a defeated looking Harry to stand, suddenly the Willow slammed a branch into them, knocking the pair back at least fourteen feet.

Hermione coughed, clutching her stomach and climbed to her feet, Harry stood in front of her, his arm out as if guarding her, they watched the tree twist from side to side, opening out and closing in on itself again, Ron's screaming erupted from inside, giving them more resolve, after all they couldn't just let him die down there!

Harry grabbed her hand and they ran towards the Willow, he pushed her out of the way of the blow, leaving himself to narrowly dodge the branch,

"Move!" he yelled, shoving her aside when a much larger branch came down overhead to crush them, Hermione let out a small yelp as she hit the ground, Harry took her hand again, pulling her towards the entrance of the tree,

"Harry!" she screamed as she saw another branch heading their way, Hermione bent just low enough to avoid it, but she could still feel the leaves graze her back, hearing a grunt she looked around to find Harry once again sprawled on the ground, his glasses missing, she turned back to the Willow in time to jump and evade the branch that would have literally sent her flying, the second branch that came at her hit her square in the stomach, lifting her high in the air, she had no choice but to wrap her arms and legs around it and hold on for dear life, it was as the Willow was swinging her around like a ragdoll, twigs scratching her face that she realised she really, really hated flying.

Hermione Granger wasn't one to scream often, however now she thought called for it, she let out a shriek so shrill it hardly sounded anything like her. She saw Harry finally standing, glasses and all, and gripped his shirt in a death vice as she whizzed past, unintentionally snatching him up with her, she had no idea what she'd been thinking at the time, getting herself killed was one thing, getting someone else killed, especially Harry, was entirely different. Eventually she had to let go of him, her arms aching with the strain, so she dropped him into the hole in which Ron had been taken and, after being swung around the tree for the umpteenth time, she let go too, sliding down the muddy slope inside the trunk only to collapse on top of Harry with a squeal,

"Sorry." she groaned,

"Don't worry about it." he replied as she rolled off of him, somehow both using him and helping him to stand,

"Where do you suppose this goes?"

"I have a hunch...I just hope I'm wrong." he admitted.

They made their way up the stone steps that led to a trap door inside some sort of worn building made completely of wood, every surface was covered in a thick layer of dust, footprints, both human and animal, went up the winding staircase,

"We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?" Hermione said, and was plagued with the memory of that day in Hogsmead, stupid Draco Malfoy had to go and ruin a perfectly good day, albeit she had to admit it the news of Sirius Black selling Harry's parents to Voldemort would have probably put a damper on things. Hermione scowled, why on earth was she thinking about him when Ron's life was clearly in danger? Maybe Ron was right. Maybe she _did_ need to sort out her priorities.

There was a scream that could only have come from the auburn-haired boy, Harry met her panicked gaze and the two ran up the stairs, into a dilapidated room where Ron sat on a mangy old mattress, with cuts on his face and Scabbers clutched to his chest,

"Ron, you're okay." Harry let out a breath of relief then remembered something, "Where's the dog?"

"It's a trap!" he replied, pointing behind the two once again, Hermione suppressed another groan, this was turning out to be like those muggle horror films she used to watch, "He's the dog. He's an Animagus!"

Hermione glanced down at the tatty floor, her eyes followed the trial of paw prints until they found a pair of human feet clad in ruddy boots, a human body in prison attire and the unshaven, withered, sinister face of Sirius Black. The murderous lunatic, as Ron had once called him, took a single steps towards them, Hermione positioned herself in front of Harry,

"If you want to kill Harry, you have to kill use too!" she said, quite matter-of-factly for the scene that was unfolding,

"No." Black stared through them, "Only one will die tonight."

"Then it'll be you!" Harry ran at him, his hand clasped around the mad man's throat, pushing him to the floor, he pulled out his wand and aimed it at his throat as Hermione had with Draco earlier, Sirius only laughed,

"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" he taunted, she could see Harry's hand shaking, not with fear but with rage and she knew full well he'd do it, he knew the spell, this man had killed his parents, why wouldn't he get revenge?

Just then Professor Lupin burst into the room,

"_Expelliarmus!"_ he bellowed, Harry's wand flew out of his hand and across the room somewhere, finding it in that place would be a nightmare, the Boy-Who-Lived backed away from the killer lying on the floor, taking his place next to Hermione, she grabbed hold of his arm, half-hugging him, "Well, well, looking rather ragged, aren't we, Sirius? Finally the flesh reflects the madness within."

"You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" he countered, and only Hermione knew what he meant.

Professor Lupin lowered his wand and smirked, not only offering his hand to the monster on the floor but hugging him as well, patting him on the back!

"I found him!" Sirius said, joyously, "Let's kill him!"

"No!" she shouted at her professor, rage and despair welling in her chest, "I trusted you! And all this time you've been his friend!" she turned to Harry and Ron for a brief moment, pointing back to the man she'd admired since the beginning of term, despite what she'd learned, "He's a werewolf, that's why he's been missing classes!"

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked, making his way over to her, she stared him in the eye defiantly, trying to prove she wasn't afraid of him,

"Since Professor Snape set the essay."

He smiled bitterly,

"You really are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"Enough talk, Remus. Come on, let's kill him!" Sirius ground out in utter desperation,

"Wait!" the professor ordered,

"I did my waiting!" Sirius fired back, "Twelve years of it! In Azkaban!"

Lupin sighed and handed his wand to the convicted murderer,

"Very well, kill him, but Harry has the right to know why."

"I know why." Harry spoke up, his voice shook as though he were on the brink of tears, it hurt her to see that pained look in his eyes, "You betrayed my parents. You're the reason they're dead."

"No. Someone did betray you're parents, Harry, but it wasn't him." Lupin said, sharply,

"Who was it then?" Harry asked, grinding his teeth,

"Peter Pettigrew!" Sirius declared, "And he's in this room, right now."

Harry turned to stare back at Hermione and she bit her lip, giving him a sympathetic look, these two men were obviously mad, she could see this conversation was killing him and she could hardly imagine what he was going through, she wasn't sure she wanted to imagine it, she knew she had to comfort him, the way he had comforted her up on that hill.

So Hermione took his hand in hers and stroked it gently,

"Come out, Peter! Come out and play!" Sirius screamed wildly to the room, arms outspread,

"_Expelliarmus!" _

Suddenly Snape appeared through the doorway, knocking Lupin's wand right out of his hand, while his own wand was aimed at madman, leaning back against the piano. Hermione's eyes widened in horror, did all the teachers at Hogwarts have secrets? She'd always been suspicious of Snape, but honestly what on earth could he have to do with Lupin and Sirius?

"Oh, how I hoped I'd be the one to catch you." he sneered, wand pointed at the unshaven convict,

"Severus-" Lupin began but Snape cut him short by training his wand at him and immediately the werewolf backed off,

"I told Dumbledore you were helping an old friend into the castle and now here's the proof."

"Brilliant Snape," Sirius began, in a snide tone, "Once again you put your keen mind to the task and come to the wrong conclusion."

Hermione frowned, their spat reminded her of something but she couldn't for the life of her think what, it seemed as if there were some sort of unsettled rivalry between the two, if Snape's eagerness to hex Sirius was anything to go by, not to mention Sirius's tormenting remarks. She couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu, she had witnessed this scene before but without as many words exchanged,

"Now, if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend."

Snape dug the tip of his wand into Sirius' throat, the hopeful gleam in the potions professor's eyes was a clear indication he would happily put the convict to death,

"Severus...don't be a fool." Lupin said, his hands up in surrender,

"He can't help it, it's habit by now." Sirius laughed,

"Be quiet!" the werewolf warned,

"Oh, be quiet yourself, Remus!"

Lupin turned away, shaking his head, he rested both palms on the piano and heaved a sigh,

"Look at you two." Snape muttered in distain, "Quarrelling like an old married couple."

Sirius rolled his eyes and smirked,

"Why don't you run along and play with you're chemistry set?"

Professor Snape pushed him against the piano, one hand round his throat. It was then she realised just what this petty rivalry reminded her of. Harry and Draco, for some reason those two had never been able to get along, and she figured it had been much the same for Snape and Sirius.

"I could do it, you know." he said, darkly, "But why deny it the Dementors?"

Sirius' eyes widened, his breathing hitched, his hands fumbling along the broken keys as he slowly backed away. It was obvious he was very afraid.

Hermione felt Harry's hand graze her back, his fingertips brushing against the denim of her jeans, what in God's name was he doing? She was about to turn her head and voice her thoughts when Harry aimed her wand at Snape and disarmed him with enough force to through him across the room, crashing into the rickety four-poster bed in the corner. She stumbled back, shocked and frowning.

Harry Potter had just attacked a teacher.


	23. Moonlight

Chapter 23

Moonlight

It should have felt odd. Racing down that hill towards Hagrid's hut for a second time that evening, this time covered in cuts and bruises, with bandaged hands and filthy grass stains on her clothes, but it didn't, at least not to her, she was more than used to travelling back in time, the only difference was usually it was for something straightforward, whereas now more than one innocent life rested on them.

Besides it was Harry she was worried about, not only must it feel terribly strange for him, but also he could easily do something stupid that would do irrevocable damage. Not that he was stupid, far from it, it was simply that he wasn't as familiar with the rules as she was.

She ran down behind the great stack of pumpkins, not far from where a still living Buckbeak lay, seeming rather depressed. Did he know? Did the poor creature know what would await him if they failed? She certainly hoped not.

Hermione and Harry crouched low enough not to be seen, craning their necks slightly to see through the window, it was then that she heard voices other than those inside the hut, she glanced around to find Dumbledore, Minister Fudge and the executioner making their way down the hill,

"Here they come." Harry said, sounding a tad panicked, "I'd better hurry."

She grabbed his arm as he was about to stand, pulling him back to the dirty ground, he gave her a look that asked her what the hell she was doing stopping him,

"Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we take him." she explained, "Otherwise, he'll think Hagrid set him free."

Harry gave the faintest of nods before turning his head to through the open window once again, she followed his gaze, seeing herself, Harry and Ron holding Scabbers. Or Peter Pettigrew as they'd discovered he'd once been known, before he sold James and Lily Potter to Voldemort and transformed himself into a rat that is,

"That's Pettigrew." the Boy-Who-Lived ground out, his green eyes narrowing, she grabbed his arm again, turning him away from the scene playing out before them,

"Harry, you can't!" she insisted, knowing full well what he'd been thinking,

"Hermione, that's the man that betrayed my parents."

Their eyes locked and she brushed a strand of hair from her face, trying to understand how hard this must be for him but remembering what Dumbledore had said. They had to play by the rules, now more than ever,

"You can't expect me to just sit here." he finished, getting up, again she pulled him back,

"Yes, you must!" she took his hand and led him round the pumpkins, out of anyone's line of sight, they sat down, and she turned to him, seeing the tiniest bit of annoyance in his features, "Awful things happen to wizards that meddle with time. We can't be seen."

She saw his shoulders slump, his resigned expression, he knew she was right, she watched as the headmaster, the minister and the executioner drew closer, she frowned as she risked a peek at the window,

"We aren't leaving." she said in confusion, "Why aren't we leaving?"

It was then she noticed the pebble sitting on one of the pumpkins, strikingly similar to the one she'd found earlier after it had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and broken a vase of Hagrid's, she picked it up, staring at it. Was it possible she'd done this before? Had she thrown it earlier? She certainly remembered sitting in Hagrid's hut and feeling like someone was watching them. Deciding it wouldn't do any harm if it had already been done, Hermione pulled her hand back and threw the pebble in through the open window. Immediately, she ducked down, not wanting to be caught,

"Are you mad?" Harry demanded to know, she ignored him and picked up another pebble, praying their past selves would get the hint and go, this time it hit the back of Harry's head, "Ow! That hurt." he said, staring at her whilst he rubbed his head,

"Sorry." she mumbled, the pair watched as Dumbledore knocked on Hagrid's front door while their past selves and Ron sneaked out the back, "Go!" she whispered urgently to Harry, pushing him into the woods, both of them hiding behind different trees.

Hermione risked a step forward, pushing the branch obscuring her view to one side, she pulled a face, aware that Harry was staring at her, looking concerned,

"Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?" she asked, out of the blue, thoroughly regretting having her hair cut, it looked no better than it had last year! It was the same tattered mess she'd been plagued with all her life, only now it was shorter, making her look like a boy.

"Hermione!" Harry hissed upon hearing the twig snap beneath her feet, she spun, once again hiding behind the large tree trunk, her chest rising and falling as she mentally scolded herself for being so stupid. She heard their past selves talking, their muffled voices sounded alarmingly suspicious, but thankfully Ron, being as naïve as he was, told them it was nothing and the trio made their way back up the hill, just as she remembered they had.

The pair slowly crept out from the woods, keeping their eyes peeled for anyone who might see them, especially their past selves, which wouldn't be good. Hermione took her former place behind the pumpkins and kept watch for Fudge while Harry went to unchain Buckbeak, which from what she could tell was now easy feat since the crows seemed adamant, poking and prodding at Harry's feet while Buckbeak refused to move, despite having returned the Boy-Who-Lived's bow.

Hermione hurried over to them to help but stopped dead cold in her tracks when the door began to open and she heard Fudge's voice, luckily for them though, Dumbledore managed to persuade the minister not to leave just yet, it were as though the headmaster knew what they were doing, but there was no way he'd have remembered their conversation in the hospital wing. Harry tried to no avail to convince the Hippogriff to come with them, still he remained lying on the ground, as if resigned to his fate, Harry threw her a hopeless look,

"Keep trying!" she murmured, and so he did but the bird simply became annoyed and let out a half-hearted shriek, Hermione wanted to stomp her feet and growl, then she thought of something.

She picked up the string of dead ferrets, draping it round her neck, the Hippogriff perked up at the smell of, what was to him anyway, dinner,

"Come on, Buckbeak." she called in a low whisper, holding one of the dead animals up high, "Come and get this nice, dead ferret." she began backing up into the woods, and this time Buckbeak was more than happy to oblige, Harry grinned at her in relief, her breath caught in her throat though when the door opened a second time and she knew they were coming, they would be caught, and Buckbeak and Sirius Black -who they'd learnt wasn't actually a killer but Harry's loving godfather who paid for Pettigrew's crimes- would both be put to death.

Thankfully Dumbledore had taken it on himself to distract Fudge and it was then she decided he must have known somehow, not that it particularly mattered right then. She lured Buckbeak into the woods using the dead ferrets, with Harry bringing up the rear, they hid behind another tree, a larger one a little further back, Hermione winced, as the malicious executioner brought his scythe down on a pumpkin, remembering not a few hours ago when it had been the Hippogriff's head instead.

She and Harry lead Buckbeak deeper into the Dark Forest, where they left the bird with the ferrets and ran off to save Sirius, climbing over giant tree roots, the mist licking at their ankles, occasionally stumbling over the few rocks that were scattered here and there, it wasn't long before they came to the clearing that looked upon the hill where the Whomping Willow sat, it was nightfall, the sky painted a dark blue, but it was still light enough for her to make out the professor pointing his wand at the Willow and using the _Immobulus_ charm,

"Look, it's Lupin." she said, glad to see him in a more agreeable state than the last time where he'd turned into a wolf and tried to eat them, "There's Snape." she added, her voice far more sombre now that she was talking about the _other_ professor that was following Lupin into the tree base,

"And now we wait." Harry said,

"And now we wait." she agreed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, both content to rest with the knowledge of Buckbeak alive and well behind them, finishing off his dinner. Hermione sat with crossed legs, staring up at the night sky, something about this felt wrong, besides the fact that Lupin was a werewolf and Sirius might still possibly have his soul sucked out by a Dementor, something else was bugging her, but she put it down to apprehension and tried to ignore it.

Harry stifled a bitter laugh, she saw him shake his head and frowned,

"What?" she asked, thinking he felt the same, that something wasn't right,

"Nothing." he smirked, glancing back at Buckbeak, she followed his gaze, raising her eyebrows in confusion, "I'm just wondering how to break it to Malfoy."

She sucked in a breath and looked away, finally realising what was wrong with this scene, she'd done this before, not here and not with Harry. It was ridiculous that she'd feel far more guilty now with her best friend trying to save an innocent man than she used to be sneaking around with the school bully to talk about the new spells they'd learnt! However that was it, wasn't it? Sneaking around after hours was what she'd done with Draco, it felt like she was betraying him to be sitting here with Harry.

"Are you alright?" Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder, she gave him a weak smile,

"Can I ask you something, Harry?" she ventured, he nodded,

"Yeah, of course. Go on."

Hermione averted her eyes, finding the rip in her jeans to be much more appealing than looking her best friend in the face right then,

_Can people change? _Her mind asked.

Peter Pettigrew had, he'd been James and Lily's friend and he'd let them die to save his own skin. If someone could change for the worse, it only made sense that they might be able to change for the better too. She didn't bother to ask though, she'd tried kindness, she'd tried respect, she'd forgiven him time and time again in first and second year regardless of some of the things he'd done. Draco Malfoy wouldn't change. Why would she want him to bother now? She couldn't honestly forgive him this time, could she? After getting Buckbeak killed? Yes. She and Harry had gone back and saved the Hippogriff, but that didn't really change what had already happened. She'd witnessed it with her own eyes. A vile image etched into her head, a memory she would never be rid of.

"Mione?" came Harry's concerned voice,

"Never mind." she shook her head, turning back to Buckbeak, who was chasing a flock of crows now that he'd eaten all the ferrets, "At least someone's enjoying himself." she said, forcing another smile as she ducked to avoid the black birds that flew low above their heads,

"Hermione?" Harry repeated in a different tone,

"Yeah?"

"Down by the lake, when I was with Sirius...I _did_ see someone. That someone made the Dementors go away."

"With a Patronus." she nodded, he looked at her in surprise, and she could practically see him asking himself how it was she knew that, "I heard Snape telling Dumbledore. According to him...only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it."

For some reason this seemed to make Harry happy, he smiled broadly, his green eyes lighting up with something akin to pride,

"It was my dad." he said, causing her frown to deepen, "It was my dad who conjured the Patronus."

"But, Harry, your dad's-"

"Dead. I know." he cut in sharply, Hermione recoiled a little, taken aback by the harshness of his tone, he seemed to understand this, if the rueful look he gave her was anything to go by, "I'm just telling you what I saw." he amended, more softly.

She looked away, not wanting to see his troubled expression, suddenly she got to her feet, seeing their past selves exit the Willow, with Lupin and Sirius, she and Harry watched, while he told her what Sirius had said earlier, about staying with him instead of his aunt and uncle, she was about to tell him that she was happy for him when Sirius' scream at them to run erupted into the night as once again she watched Lupin turn into a skeletal wolf.

"Let's go!" Harry said and the two ran, keeping their eyes fixed on the black Animagus and the werewolf, both fighting for control. Hermione and Harry came to a halt when their saw Harry's past self facing a bloodthirsty Lupin, she put her hands up to her mouth and howled, Harry grabbed her,

"What are you doing?" he asked, while she wrestled out of his grip,

"Saving your life!" she replied, before howling again,

"Thanks." he murmured and watched Lupin look around bewildered, then the wolf came bounding down towards them, "Great. Now it's coming for us!"

"Yeah, didn't think about that." she admitted sheepishly.

Hermione and Harry ran as fast as they could back into the woods, her heart beating erratically as she tried to help Harry up from where he'd fallen, he took the hand she'd offered and pulled her behind a tree, truthfully she was getting tired of running and hiding, all she wanted was to curl up in her pyjamas with a good book. And maybe take a bath.

Still clasping Harry's hand in an iron grip, she crept around the tree and began to back away, plan! ing to make a quick escape, she shut her eyes tight when she heard the feral growling behind them, she turned, placing herself in front of Harry, only to have him pull her around into a hug that meant he'd take the majority of the blow, she let out a small sound when Lupin raised up on his hind legs to attack.

There was a loud bird-like shriek, Hermione looked up to find Buckbeak had scared the werewolf away, she rested her hands against Harry's chest and bit her lip as the Boy-Who-Lived hugged her,

"That was so scary." she managed, more shrilly than she'd have liked,

"Poor Professor Lupin's having a really tough night." Harry said, somewhere between a joke and a statement.

A gust of cold wind came, causing a shiver to run down Hermione's spine, the twigs and dead leaves on the ground danced around their feet, she and Harry looked up, her stomach convulsed painfully as if she were going to be sick with fear. There they were, clad in black and floating above their heads.

The Dementors.


	24. In Love With A Mudblood?

Chapter 24

In Love With A Mudblood?

Draco had been uncharacteristically quiet the past few days, something his fellow Slytherins had noted. He had stopped barking insults at people unless they really pissed him off, he had stopped shuffling his feet to annoy Filch, he had even stopped yelling at Parkinson all together.

He'd pretty much turned into a bit of a zombie ever since Granger socked him one. But today he'd decided would be different, he wasn't going to lie on his bed wondering how on earth he was ever going to get her to forgive him this time. Not that he could talk to her civilly even if he wanted to, still it would have been nice to _think _she didn't hate his very existence.

That's why that morning he'd deliberately plastered the most unpleasant of smirks on his face and belittled Van Hegna, along with Nott, Longbottom and Chang the first chance he got. He had to prove to Crabbe and Goyle that he didn't give a damn that Granger had hit him, they were becoming irritatingly unconvinced, those two were, so he'd decided the moment he woke up that today he was going to get back at her for it.

There was also the added bonus that today Lupin was resigning, which would mean the man could no longer attempt to fill the role of his psychologist.

He made his way down the winding steps, alone for a change, not that he minded at all, he was feeling pretty optimistic, it certainly helped his ego that there were the usual bunch of Slytherin girls flirting with him as he passed them and Parkinson wasn't with them either. Another bonus! Not that he'd dare touch those girls with a ten foot broom let alone actually return the favour. Why would he bother to feign interest in them when they were all so bloody ugly?

The morning took a sour turn however when a beaten up Potter rounded the corner with a beaming Granger in toe, she smiled up at the Boy-Who-Refused-To-Drop-Dead, a fair few cuts and bruises marring her lovely face, a mischievous gleam in her eyes, the two of them seeming to have a conversation without so much as saying a word, Draco's nostrils flared, jealously getting the better of him, it was the same look she'd given him countless times on the Astronomy Tower and sometimes in class, she wasn't supposed to give anyone else that look, least of all Potty.

_You're pathetic! _The voice in his head, akin to Lucius Malfoy's, spat with a serrated edge. _You didn't honestly think that smile was reserved for you, now did you Draco? _

"Nice face, Malfoy." Potter sniggered, snapping him out of his stupor, he caught the slight tug at Granger's lips but at least she had the decency to look away.

Draco's jaw clenched and he shoved the orphan boy hard enough to cause him to topple over, Potter's face was a picture, eyes wide and mouth open in shock, as if he'd thought the blonde haired Slytherin didn't have it in him to do much more than call names and tell tales. He was wrong. Despite what he thought, it had never been because Draco was afraid of the repercussions that would surely follow did he do anything to Potter, he'd simply been biding his time, what was the point in striking when the chips were down? He'd planned to wait until he had the upper-hand...but sometimes Potter was just begging for it.

Granger's chest angrily rose and fell as she helped Potty to his feet, the boy kept giving her sideways glances, seeming more annoyed that she'd been there to witness the great Scarhead getting pushed around than he was at actually being pushed around. Draco remembered when he had sneaked into the hospital wing to visit Granger's Petrified form and, from what he could recall of the nurse's babbling, it would appear Madame Pomfrey had been right.

Potter fancied Granger.

She took a step towards the blonde, his eyes dropped to her balled up fist,

"I wouldn't if I were you, Granger." he snarled, "Or are you forgetting I could easily have you expelled?"

He was graced with the satisfaction of seeing her recoil, her scowl deepening as it hit home that he was threatening her, her lips pressed into a hard line, her nose scrunched up slightly to one side indignantly at his words,

"Try it, Malfoy, and I swear I'll hex you into oblivion!" Potter said, dangerously low,

"Harry, don't." Granger grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him away, "Just leave it."

"She's right, you know, Potter." Draco smirked, "It would be a shame to have to tell your parents. Oh, I forgot, they're dead, aren't they?"

Potter went for him this time, wrestling him to the floor, his fist coming down fast on Draco, the blonde easily dodged it, swiftly sweeping his head to the side to avoid what would have been his second blow to the face that week. Instead he elbowed Potter in the temple, grinning viciously when the boy fell back a little, blood seeping from a reopened cut above his eyebrow, but Potty carried on as if he it didn't hurt and one hand wound itself around Draco's throat, effectively blocking his airways while the other continued to beat his face, the first time he hit him hard enough to break the skin on the blonde boy's cheek, the second and blood welled in his mouth. Then as the foul little maggot raised his hand for another blow, someone had finally managed to pull him off the Slytherin, and it was none other than Granger, who looked thoroughly disgusted with both boys.

Her glare had darkened dramatically, she pulled Potter away, allowing Draco to get to his feet, he straightened out his robes, ignoring the shocked gazes of other students who had witnessed the first real fight between the two rivals.

Potty's green eyes were filled with a mad, blind rage which appeared to be aimed at Granger now that she had broken up their slugfest,

"Let go, Hermione!" he ordered, attempting to wrestle out of her grip, all the while keeping his eyes on Draco, "He deserves it! He's horrible and evil and-"

"Harry!" her hands cupped his face, bringing his attention back to her "Stop it! I don't care what he is! Stop!"

Draco's brow furrowed as the Scarhead calmed at least enough to stop his angry thrashing, he nodded, begrudgingly, and gently moved her hands away before walking off in the direction of the Great Hall. Granger stared after him, letting out a sigh, her shoulders slumped, she shook her head hopelessly and turned to face the blonde boy, the raging, unwavering angry abyss that were her dark orbs once again trained on him, at first searching his face, for what he couldn't tell, maybe remorse, maybe something else. He hoped for the latter because he certainly didn't feel guilty.

"And you!" she said, crossing the distance between them as he had that fateful day in class nearly four months ago where he'd been attacked by that bloody overgrown pigeon, Granger shook her head again, "What on earth is your problem, Malfoy?"

His stormy eyes narrowed, glowering down at her,

"You're my problem!" he barked, "You horrible, despicable mudblood and your precious Saint Potter!"

She drew in a shaky breath and, with a finger at pointed him, opened her mouth to say something but closed it again before she could do so much as cough up the words, she blinked a few times and swallowed hard, as if trying to make sense of what he'd said, as if he'd said in it a foreign language. Granger turned away and walked off. He half-hoped she'd come bounding back and hit him again, a broken nose was better than the cold shoulder she was giving him, even having her hex him would have been better than having her look through him as though he was a ghost, there was a blunt pain in his chest, sharp enough to cut him, but not quite strong enough to really tear him apart, he figured though that the way things were going with Granger, it would eventually rip him to shreds and bleed him dry.

Granger didn't come back. He waited, watched her form vanish around the corner, wanting to run after her and tell her he was sorry, beg her to understand how difficult it was for him, but what would be the point? Did he really want to go back to how it was first term? Lying, hiding, scheming for her, risking his reputation and his neck for her, only to have her repay him by running in to _Potter'_s arms? No, he'd be a fool to want that again.

However much his head protested to thoughts of apologising to anyone, let alone a mudblood, something else kept nagging him, a small voice lost somewhere in the back of his mind, urging him to chase after her, willing him to stop being so cowardly and petty. Draco Malfoy had never taken much of a liking to that particular voice, it seemed to lead him to do stupid things, such as attempt to be friends with a girl who was below him, or hold that very girl's hand in front of his rather prejudice father, or let her hit him without hitting her back! It was this voice that told him to push his limbs out to where her form had once been and he wasn't falling for it this time, it would only make things worse, if that were possible.

Draco reached up to touch the inside of his mouth and found a vacant space where a tooth should be, he wiped the blood away, hating the taste it left on his tongue and bent to pick with the tiny tooth that sat on the floor at his feet, stained red. He examined it and sneered, stuffing it into his pocket. He'd have to return the favour to Potter someday.

He made his way down the corridor, occasionally wiping away more blood, and sauntered into the Great Hall, his eyes met Granger's as he passed the table she sat at, there was a package there and if he had to venture a guess he'd say it was for Potter, who was unexpectedly absent –Draco wasn't complaining. Some emotion unknown to him flitted across her perfect features but it wasn't long before she looked away to smile at something the insufferable Oaf had said. Draco ignored it and took his seat beside Crabbe and Goyle, Parkinson was there too, pestering him the second she noticed the cut and the blood, asking him was he alright and was there anything he needed, never mind ordering he go to Madame Pomfrey at once. Her unwelcome attention did not help the mood that had easily turned bitter, neither did the uncertain looks Crabbe and Goyle exchanged,

"Who was it? You know, we could always beat them up if you like, Malfoy." Crabbe offered, and honestly the thought was all too tempting however he knew better than that, his father had told him that Potter was going to pay for his misdeeds, he just had to be patient, he had no idea what Lucius Malfoy had planned but he just couldn't wait for Scarhead to get his just desserts,

"Was it Gr-" Goyle began to ask but Draco stopped him with a look that could kill,

"No, it wasn't." he replied brusquely.

Crabbe and Goyle got the hint and kept their mouths closed from thereon, Parkinson was persistent as ever, fixing his hair and using her napkin to stem the blood, he brushed her off, picking up a bottle of Beetlejuice and taking a swig, while biting into a scone, he ate and drank without once taking his eyes off Granger, she did everything to avoid his gaze, as if she could somehow feel his eyes on her. He jutted his chin a bit at her blatant disregard for him. He longed for things to be like they were, her and him, well, minus all the Potty crap obviously, but they were just too different and she was just too in love with the pathetic orphan. His fists clenched at the thought of her and Potter together like that, he couldn't fathom why but the image pissed him off greatly.

Scarhead walked into the room then and the Oaf began babbling and fumbling over the mysterious package, Potter rushed to unfold the wrapping from the already opened object, revealing a broom, Draco scowled, he had hoped that since Potter had lost his broom in the last Quidditch match it would be a few more weeks before he got another one, never mind a Firebolt, the fastest broom in the world apparently, or that's what he assumed it was from what he could overhear. Draco watched as Granger smiled at Potter and lifted a feather that had come with the broom, an off-white, almost blue colour with flecks of gold, the damn Hippogriff's no doubt.

Besides it's not like he'd get far on it, Snape would surely not allow him to use it for Quidditch, it wouldn't be fair, the professor didn't like him much anyway, something for which Draco was thankful.

Practically everyone of his classmates gathered around Potty, begging him to try it out so they could see it in action for themselves and as usual the stupid prat didn't need much persuasion, the Boy-Who-_Really_-Needed-To-Die turned to Granger and shrugged, oh, yes, he was probably just dying to show off to her! A moment later Potter and the swarm of students, including a certain bookworm, rushed outside and, before he know what he was doing, Draco had stood too, his legs seeming to have a mind of their own as they carried him out to the courtyard.

He stood between Parkinson and Goyle with Crabbe a fair bit back, puffing and panting as he tried to catch up with them, Draco watched as Potter mounted the broom and took off in a blur, causing an insanely loud cheer from his classmates but all of them seemed to dissipate into nothing when he caught Granger staring at him over her shoulder.

Draco gave a tentative smile, neither pleasant nor malicious, and she turned away.

He wasn't certain –he'd never felt anything like this before- but he had a terrible inkling that maybe, just maybe, he, a Malfoy, was falling in love with a mudblood.

He groaned internally. This would not end well.


	25. Death Eater Raid

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the fantastic reviews, I swear to God my head must have grown ten times the size it usually is. Enjoy! **

* * *

**Year Four: The Goblet of Fire **

Chapter 25

Death Eater Raid

Finally, he was reaping the benefits of obliging to what his father asked. Lucius Malfoy rarely kept his word and Draco had highly doubted he'd still take him to the World Cup considering that the blasted Hippogriff hadn't even been executed. Which was good, he supposed, as Granger would probably never have forgiven him had the thing been killed.

The fourteen year old blonde Slytherin scolded himself. Why did he do that? What on earth possessed him to think it was a good idea to allow himself to think of anything that might possibly remind him of _her_? Although, practically everything reminded him of her, it always had, she was a very hard act to follow, that one, he almost felt sorry for the girls that attempted to flirt with him, they went to school with Granger for crying out loud! Were they blind? Or just thick? Because how they could think they would get his attention, after she had left such a mark, was truly beyond h-

_Stop it! _The voice in his head hissed. It was getting out of hand, well, where she was concerned his thoughts had always been out of hand but this...this was ridiculous, it was as if he had no control over himself anymore. He wasn't sure if it had started after he caught her staring at him in third year or when she hit him or, hell, even before then, all he knew was that she had poisoned him. It was sick, she'd turned him into a masochist, he hated the nostalgic agony brought on by thinking of her but he couldn't stop the fantasies, he didn't want to, he loved the scenarios he played out in his head, all innocent and rather simple, like for instance, he imagined them passing each other in the halls of Hogwarts and she would grace him with a smile that told him everything would be alright.

His life was spiralling, a constant vicious circle of bitter anger and hopeless depression, mood swings neither of his parents had noticed as he did his best to hide from them, he didn't want his mother to know because he knew she'd worry and he daren't tell his father, who, God forbid he found out about these disgusting feelings of his, would probably kill him.

"Draco!" Lucius Malfoy snapped, causing the young lad to look up, both pleased and disappointed to be dragged away from his wandering thoughts, "Do pay attention."

The blonde said nothing as his father continued to talk business at the Ministry, something that Lucius thought Draco would be doing himself one day as well as being a Death Eater.

Not that he knew what it meant to be a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he was still kept very much in the dark on that particular topic, though it was probably no more than a couple of chants here and there, a threat or two to some lowly scumbag and bowing to the Dark Lord and whatnot. Much like with his father, as Lucius didn't seem to care whether he was listening or not, all Draco needed to do was grunt every so often and nod his head, he figured the only reason his father ever spoke was purely because he liked the sound of his own voice.

"Bloody hell, Dad. How far up are we?" came the unmistakable voice of the Oaf, as he and his horrid family made their way up the winding stairs, followed by the ever-annoying, pompous git; _Potter. _Draco rolled his eyes and sneered, so he still hadn't been killed by a centaur or something...how unfortunate.

"Well, put it this way;" Lucius said in a smooth, patronising tone, "if it rains, you'll be the first to know."

Draco sniggered, with one hand gripping the railing and the other in his trouser pocket, his grey-blue eyes coldly staring at the Scarhead, it was then he saw her, Granger, something twisted in his gut, a curious mix between pain and pleasure, with a flicker of hope, he couldn't understand it but something had brought back all the old feelings he thought he'd buried last year. What was she doing here? She hated Quidditch, mostly because she couldn't fly, hence he'd thought this would be the one place he'd be safe, he wouldn't have to see her and the match would distract him from any thoughts he might have of her. But no, she'd had to come and with Potter of all people!

"Father and I are in the Minister's box." Draco bragged, grinning, he kept his eyes locked on hers, she stared back, biting her lip, her face solemn, "By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself."

His father's walking stick knocked him in the stomach,

"Don't boast, Draco." Lucius scolded lightly, looking Granger over with complete revulsion, "There's no need with _these_ people."

The blonde rubbed his stomach and shot his father a glare, partly for making him look like a tosser in front of Granger and partly for belittling her, only he was allowed to do that, no-one else, when he glanced up to see her face she was staring off into the distance, her brows slightly furrowed, she sucked in a breath, Potter took her arm gently and turned her away. His father was too quick though, he reached up with his walking stick, bringing the snake head down onto Potter's hand, effectively pinning in his place,

"Do enjoy yourself, won't you?" Lucius said in that icy voice of his, causing Draco to suppress a shiver, "While you can." the blonde man gave them a bitter smile and let him go.

Draco followed his father and took his seat at the end of the row, less than eight feet from Minister Fudge, with a perfect view of the entire pitch, under a glass shelter so the rain wouldn't taint his sleek, tailored black suit which he'd coupled with a black polo-neck.

"Imagine..." his father began indignantly, "Letting a mudblood into the World Cup. It's disgraceful."

"No worse than letting Potter into Hogwarts." Draco grumbled and thankfully Lucius Malfoy regularly neglected to listen to his son,

"Did you say something, Draco?"

"No."

Viktor Krum, the infamous Bulgarian seeker, appeared on the large screen, clad in red, his fist raised as the hundreds of thousand people cheered for him, Draco grinned and clapped vigorously, the bloke was a total badass, beat the Koreans in under five minutes in the last match, four hundred and ninety to three-twenty.

Fudge welcomed everyone and made his speech about what an honour it was to be hosting the World Cup, before waving his wand, there was a burst of white light and the match began, Draco was on the edge of his seat the entire time, wishing he could be out there on his broom playing alongside Krum, who he'd begun to think was some sort of god, the way he dodged the Bludger and did a complicated and dangerous flip on his broom to catch the Snitch, he did it would dignity too, not once did he stumble or fall or even look like an arse. He was absolutely incredible.

When the match was over Lucius left Draco with Crabbe and Goyle, saying he had business to attend, the young blonde didn't mind at all, he celebrated the win by getting slightly tipsy and taking the piss out of his two followers.

It went on like that for a couple of hours, until the three were nothing short of drunk and without a care in the world began using underage magic, only when they heard the third terror-filled scream did they wake from their alcohol-fuelled stupor long enough to realise something was very, very wrong. Then they came. The Death Eaters. Crabbe sputtered his drink and ran off, Goyle joined him, leaving Draco standing alone, he folded his arms across his chest and took another swig of his beer, he wasn't scared of them, his father was one for crying out loud, he would be one someday, it's not like they'd hurt him knowing he was a Malfoy and a pureblood.

His blood ran cold, his hands went limp, dropping the bottle of Butterbeer, the air caught in his throat and he tried to take deep breaths.

_Shit! Shit! Shit! I have to find her!_ His thoughts were a panicked frenzy as he raced to find her, he searched everywhere, his eyes showing far too much white, his entire being shaking with dread, despair, horror. Where was she? He imagined her lying on the dirty ground somewhere being tortured, a masked man standing over her, the words resounded in his head, the words he knew they'd utter against her did they find her, and then she'd be gone. Cold, lifeless, dead. A stupid mandrake root wouldn't help if her heart stopped beating all together, nothing would, he didn't want to think how agonisingly bleak the world would be without her, he didn't think he'd be able to stand it, he ran as fast as he could, willing his legs to move faster, away from the cloaked figures, madly pushing past the hordes of terrified people, he didn't give a damn about them, the Death Eaters could have every single one of them so long as they left her, he needed her. It hit Draco that not only did he think he wouldn't be able to survive if they took her but he wouldn't want to, he'd go insane.

He let out a breath of relief when he saw her and almost forgot the scene unfurling around him, she was standing there, her head turning from one side to the other as she cried and screamed for her friends, Draco's heart went out for her, he'd never seen her look so helpless,

"Granger!" he called, rushing over to her, she turned to the sound of his voice,

"Malf-" she started but he cut her off by hugging her, possibly tightly enough to leave bruises, she bursts into tears all over again, her arms round his neck, she said something but she was blubbering so hard he couldn't make it out, Draco quickly pulled away and grabbed her hand,

"We have to get out of here."

"But Harry, Ron, the othe-"

"There after muggles! And you're just the sort. Now shut up and follow me!"

She did as she was told without much fuss, clutching his hand in such a fierce grip he thought it might turn blue from lack of circulation, still he'd rather lose his hand than her.

He lead her away from the main part of the attack, making certain to keep her out of anyone's line of sight, especially the passing Death Eaters, they crept into the stadium that was half in ruins, most of the ceiling was gone and the glass sat in a thousand tiny shards on the ground, along with ash and random pieces of metal that had once been a part of the foundation, his hand still clasping hers, they hid behind a mound of rubble in the darkest corner of what was left of the room, he peeked up over the wreckage and found the Dark Lord's followers leaving. The field that had once been full up with tents and bustling with people was now dark and isolated, thick clouds of smoke rolled off the remains of what the Death Eaters had burnt down, it was an ugly aftermath.

"Keep that big bushy head of yours down, Granger." Draco hissed when she wouldn't stop fidgeting, she kept moving, as if trying to get comfortable, however she must have known it was pointless, sitting on fragments of glass and wrought iron and whatnot, still she seemed persistent, "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded to know in an agitated tone, did she want to get caught? Was that it? She threw him a glare and he looked down to find her calf so badly torn up he could see the muscle contract every time she moved, he glanced up at her face and caught her wincing.

"Shit!" he exclaimed in a whisper, shrugging out of his suit jacket, he tore off the sleeve and began bandaging her leg, he wished he'd had at least some experience tending to wounds with magic, he had no idea where to began and he certainly wasn't going to try only to make it worse, this was the best he could do for now,

"Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me." she croaked out, her voice probably hoarse from screaming, he said nothing as he tied a knot in the makeshift bandage, the rest of his jacket cascaded amongst the rubble somewhere, he climbed to his feet and helped her stand, putting his arm around her shoulder to support her,

"I think they're gone. Let's go."

He carried her through the eerie wasteland, occasionally kicking broken chairs and pieces of furniture out of the way, two figures came into view, at first his heart pounded and sweat ran down his neck, then he realised it was only Potter and the Oaf, the pair stared at them for a minute before recognising Granger and running over to them, relief and confusion evident on their faces,

"Hermione, thank God you're alright." Potter said, his frown deepening when Granger didn't run to hug him like she usually did, Draco suppressed the urge to laugh, now was not the time, "Get you're grubby hands off her, Malfoy." his green eyes darkened,

"Oh, stop it, Harry!" Granger snapped, "He helped me for goodness sake."

"That so?" Potter seethed, "And where do you think his parents are, Hermione? Because I'll bet they're out there wearing the masks."

Draco smiled nastily,

"I'd really love to slug you again, Potty, but I think we need to get Granger help first, don't you?"

Scarhead looked her over and realisation finally dawned for him and the Oaf, Potty sighed in defeat as Draco pulled up a worn arm chair he found and set Granger down, she gave him a small, thankful smile that was marred by the fearful shudder that ran through her at the sight around them. The blonde turned to look back at the two lads staring at him, one in suspicion, the other rather dumbfounded,

"If she comes back to Hogwarts in any way a worse state than she is now, you two will wish you were dead. Especially you, Potter."

And with that Draco walked off.


	26. Repercussions

Chapter 26

Repercussions

Hermione sat in her usual seat beside Harry on the train, only this time she wasn't laughing with him and Ron over something utterly ridiculous like she usually would, she wasn't reading a book like she usually would, she wasn't even reading to be honest. Yes, she may have had the newspaper in her hands for some time now but the words held no interest for her, it was the image that had her transfixed, Voldemort's face in the clouds with a snake coming out of his mouth. She had been staring at the picture for nearly an hour, unable to look away despite wanting so badly to forget a vast part of what happened that night.

It wasn't likely though, considering she had twelve stitches in her right leg and probably would do until she was back at Hogwarts where Madame Pomfrey could see to it, she didn't want to admit aloud that it was painful, it would make her look weak and childish, two things she certainly didn't want to be if the beginning of this term was anything to go by.

She was too lost in her thoughts to hear the trolley lady ask if she could get them anything, she didn't hear Ron ask for a Licorice Wand or see Harry's worried expression.

Hermione only looked up from the paper after both lads had finished ordering from the trolley and sat down, Harry had the faintest of smiles on his face, she had obviously missed something, though she wasn't sure she was even curious as to what it might be, there were more important things to worry about than why her best friend was smiling when she could see nothing amusing about the situation,

"This is horrible." she finally spoke for the first time since they boarded the train, "How can the Ministry not know who conjured it? Wasn't there any security?"

"Loads." Ron replied, chewing his Wand, "That's what worried them so much, it happened right under their noses."

She glanced from Ron to Harry and caught him trying to discreetly scratch the scar that was clearly bothering him,

"It's hurting again, isn't it?" she asked, knowingly, her eyes locked onto his,

"I'm fine." Harry lied, shaking his head,

"You know Sirius will want to hear about this...what you saw at the World Cup _and_ the dream."

Harry just stared at her, he knew she was right, she was always right, then he turned away from her to look out the window, letting out a breath, she couldn't fathom why on earth he insisted on trying to hide these kinds of things from her, she was his friend, she'd helped him on countless occasions, the only thing she'd ever ask of him was not to shut her out when they both knew full well that two heads were better than one, still Harry seemed reluctant to include her in such things, Ron he didn't mind, which only served to make her feel more unwanted.

_It's because I'm a girl, isn't it?_ She thought.

"Speaking of the World Cup, what happened with you and Malfoy?" Harry asked, facing her once again,

"What do you mean?" she replied, awkwardly, she really did not want to talk about that right now,

"Oh, I don't know," Ron said, sarcastically, "one minute he hates you the next he's helping you get away from Death Eaters."

"Exactly." Harry agreed, "Why would he bother trying to save you -a...a 'mudblood'- when he could easily just save his own skin? It doesn't make any sense."

Hermione set her paper down and stood, she hated hearing that foul word on anyone's lips, she'd become accustomed to Draco using it, but Harry, well, that was taking it one step too far, and then there was also the tiny little fact that she didn't want to have to lie to her friends, besides what would she tell them? That she and Draco had once been friends too and he'd no doubt only saved her out of courtesy? No, she couldn't say that, Harry would probably fly off the handle, so instead she decided to exit the cabin without saying a thing, leaving him to regret his particular choice in words.

She limped down the aisle, every now and then having to squeeze past someone who was looking for the trolley or the bathroom or something, she peered in through the frosted glass of every cabin until finally she found him, she slid open the door and there he was, sitting with Goyle and Blaise, he didn't look up, his eyes glued to the same paper she had been staring at earlier, only unlike her he seemed to actually be reading it,

"Get out, Parkinson." he said in a bored tone at the same time Goyle spoke,

"What'd you want, Mudblood?"

She ignored the tall, curly haired boy and met Draco's gaze,

"A word?" she said, firmly but polite, the blonde nodded once and stood, handing the paper to Blaise, who took it with raised eyebrows, while Goyle gawped at them.

Hermione led Draco further down the back of the train, out of earshot of his goons and everyone else for that matter, they stood there for a moment, both silent, she couldn't help but think back to the last time they'd been like this, she'd gone to him for reassurance when Harry and Ron had gone missing in second year and things had quickly gone downhill from there, she wanted to believe that this time would be different, that maybe they could be friends again, but she doubted it,

"How's the leg?" he asked, startling her from her thoughts,

"Ghastly." she admitted, "Can't wait to get it fixed up properly, at least then I'll be able to walk without looking like Filch."

Draco smirked, he tried to stifle a laugh but couldn't, soon they were both laughing, with Draco doing rather good impressions of the deranged keeper, leaving Hermione short of breath, she'd almost forgotten how funny he could be, she could've used a bit more laughter last year, she would probably need it this year as well, slowly the pair sobered, the silence was back but it was considerably less uncomfortable, Draco was staring at her, a wistful smile his lips, she missed this,

"Thanks for helping me." she said, having felt the need to thank him for a while now, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels,

"It's alright." he gave her that lazy half-shrug of his, "Just means you owe me one."

She crossed her arms over her chest, returning his grin,

"Yeah. I guess I do. Maybe I'll buy you a Butterbeer one day."

He stared back at her in mock horror,

"A Butterbeer? That's all? Heh, cheapskate."

"Unfortunately, we're not all as rich as the great Draco Malfoy." she giggled, her voice hinting at sarcasm,

"Terrible, isn't it?" he said, arrogantly fixing his jacket, she bit her lip to stop the smile that seemed reluctant to leave her face, she stuck out her hand for him to shake, he glanced down, his own smile faltering, "Granger..." he began hesitantly, "I can't. Look what happened last time."

She shook her head, finding herself slightly disappointed,

"It's just a truce, Malfoy. That's all, I swear."

He appeared to be fighting some internal battle, his brows furrowed, he closed his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair, while she stared up at him, her own hand itching to hold his so much that she rubbed it against the hard denim of her jeans to try and rid herself of the longing sensation, but in the end he took it and they shook, her hand tingled from the contact,

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, sounding like he meant it, she nodded, looking him over once more before making her way back down the aisle -albeit ineptly.

Draco didn't offer to help her, she didn't want him to, it was bad enough with what had just happened, she wasn't sure what it was exactly but it hurt a lot to remember how great things used to be between them, how much fun they had, how he would confide in her, and no-one else, about his problems without dragging her down and Hermione knew that it would only end badly if they continued to get close again. Besides she could take care of herself.

She slipped back inside her own cabin to find Ron nearly asleep and Harry staring out the window, she closed the door, making as little noise as possible, and turned to face her conscious friend, he opened his mouth then closed it, mentally editing whatever it was he had been going to say as to make certain he didn't offend her again,

"I didn't mean what I said earlier, well, I-I meant it, just not, um, how it came out." Harry fumbled for the words whilst twiddling his thumbs,

"It's fine, Harry, but honestly I don't think Malfoy is as bad as he's made out to be. I think he's just...scared."

The Boy-Who-Lived scoffed,

"Yeah. Right." he muttered, than added as an after thought, "He's on the wrong side, Hermione."

"I know." she replied, both annoyed and tired of this particular topic, "But I don't think he had much choice in the matter."

Harry put his hand on hers, she curled her fingers around it. Sometimes she wished she'd been nastier, so she would've been placed in Slytherin, then she wouldn't have to sneak around just to thank Draco for saving her life. But then she'd have never been put in that particular house anyway, would she? She'd have had to be a pureblood. And she wouldn't have been friends with Harry, or even Ron.

It was like she was no longer just Hermione Granger, like she was two separate people, around her friends she was the naive, bossy bookworm who was always right, but around Draco she was just herself, flaws and all, whether she liked it or not, it was easier that way, which probably made it so hard to think they could never really be friends again, never mind they were too old for those sort of games.

"What do you suppose he's dreaming about?" Hermione asked, desperately wanting to change the subject, she nodded to Ron, who was smiling with drool running down the side of his mouth, Harry sniggered,

"Probably Madame Rosmerta. He fancies her, you know."

"Oh, I forgot, they're a pair star-crossed lovers, those two, aren't they?" Hermione smirked,

"A real Romeo and Juliet." he agreed, in a light-hearted, teasing tone, "Why must we always go for the ones we can't have?"

She looked down at her lap, the question ringing far too true for her liking, she'd been told to stay away from Draco, she'd known he came from a prejudice pureblood family and she'd witnessed him being placed in Slytherin, surely that was enough reason to steer clear? But, no, she'd gone after a friendship she knew wouldn't be able to last, she was actually surprised it had lasted that long in the first place or that now after everything they'd done to one another, after she'd hit him, he'd agree to a truce.

"Exactly." she blew out in a whisper,

"Mione? Are you alright?"

Her dark orbs darted to his face, there was something there, something she recognised, she'd seen it on someone else's face before, it was more than simple friendly concern, it nagged at her, she could taste the word on her tongue but still she was at a loss, she didn't understand it, whatever emotion it was it filled her with a strange sense of nervousness,

"I'm fine." she insisted, he looked like he wanted to protest, tell her that he knew there was something bugging her but he refrained from doing so, turning to gaze out the window as he usually did, "Harry?" his head snapped round to face her, "Do you think we'll have a normal term this year?"

He gave her that happy smile of his, the one that lit his eyes up, brightening every single one of his features,

"You're a witch, I'm a wizard, we get money from a bank run by goblins, we have pictures that move, we've fought trolls and werewolves..." he paused for a breath and she laughed, "Define _normal_?"

She rolled her eyes, giving him a playful nudge,

"Harry!" she scolded lightly, rolling up the newspaper to hit him on the head, the both of them laughing, suddenly Harry stopped fighting with her, in fact he stopped moving all together, she backed away, frowning, his face was dark as he glared at something behind her, she hoped against hope it wasn't another bloody Dementor and when she turned around, she found it was much worse.

Draco Malfoy stood outside the cabin, even through the frosted glass she knew he was looking right at her and though his handsome face was a blur she could see the hurt there, he seemed paralysed for a moment then quickly made his way down the aisle.

Leaving them alone.


	27. Unforgivable

Chapter 27

Unforgivable

The mad ex-Auror Alastor Moody wrote his surname on the small blackboard. He was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, he had a multitude of scars, a glass eye and wore a horrid worn leather jacket that reached his ankles, his blunt, aggressive, no-nonsense nature put Hermione on edge, she had hardly any self-esteem as it was, she really did not need a professor who no doubt saw her as a stupid little girl.

"I am here because Dumbledore asked me." he explained to the class, "End of story. Goodbye. The end! Any questions?"

No-one dared to speak, it was a deafening silence echoing around the room that proved just how terrifying he truly was, Hermione glanced down at her desk, wondering how she was going to get through an entire year with someone who seemed to hate, well, everyone.

She sat in the middle of the class, beside Theodor Nott, two rows back from Harry and Ron, where they sat on her right, and a row in front of Draco, who was on her left beside Goyle, it was the first time in her life she had positioned herself so far at the back, last year she'd have given up her free period to get a seat at the front, Lupin was always so kind and tried to make every single one of them feel at ease, Mad Eye Moody was more the type to attempt to crush people simply to see how easy it was to break them and she did not want to feel his wrath.

"When it comes to the Dark Arts...I believe in a practical approach." he whispered last part to the room menacingly as if it were a deadly secret, Hermione shivered at his tone, there was really something off about Moody, "But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"

"Three, sir." Hermione said, uncertain, not about the answer but about her professor,

"And they are so named?" he asked, his back to her as he wrote it down on the board,

"Because they are unforgivable." she gulped, despite herself, "The use of any of them will-"

"Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban. Correct." he half turned to look at her and she wished he hadn't, his eyes were wide with insanity, "Now the Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different!" he threw the chalk down onto the floor, stomping on it, before grabbing another piece and turning back to the board, "You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared! You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!"

Hermione heard the boy mumble something under his breath about Moody being able to see out the back of his head,

"And hear across classrooms!" the professor screamed as he threw his second piece of chalk at the boy, causing everyone to shrink down away from him, Hermione glanced back at Draco, who was fearfully gawking at Mad Eye with a raised eyebrows, she turned back to the professor before the blonde caught her, "So which curse shall we see first?"

He wasn't actually going to show them what they did, was he? This was dark stuff! Spells and curses she'd only really known one wizard to use. Voldemort and perhaps his followers. She shuddered again, remembering their silver masks and black cloaks.

"Thomas!" Moody declared, "Stand! Give us a curse."

"Um, well, my dad did tell me about one." the usually confidant lad stuttered a little, "The Imperius Curse."

"Oh, yeah, you're father would know all about that." the professor nodded in distaste, "Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why." Professor Moody made his way over to his own desk where he pulled a relatively small tarantula out of a glass jar, he pointed his wand at it first to make it grow so all the class could see the insect, even if they were at the very back,

"_Imperio!"_ the second the word left his lips the tarantula was his, to do with as he pleased.

If he lifted his wand, the tarantula would lift into the air, like a voodoo doll and its master, it was a scary thought that someone like Voldemort could have complete control over another human being by uttering one seven letter word. Moody waved his wand and the spider landed on Dean Thomas' desk, then he made it land on Crabbe's head, the boy whimpered, his eyes shut tight as the entire class began to laugh, all except Hermione, who couldn't understand what they found amusing knowing that dark witches and wizards could easily steal away their freedom.

She didn't want to think about some of the things that could be done with such a curse. Moody forced the tarantula to crawl up Ron's arm, of course he panicked and began hyperventilating,

"If she bites she's lethal." the professor said, causing Ron to flinch, "What are you laughing at?" he turned to Draco and with the swish of his wand the spider landed on the blonde's face, his body tensed and he immediately started thrashing about,

"Ugh! Get off!" he yelped, as Goyle raised his hand to swat it away but was clearly reluctant to touch it, the room was in fits of giggles, even Moody was laughing,

"Talented, isn't she? What should I have her do next? Jump out the window?" with one tiny movement the tarantula was thrown against the pane of glass, the class sobered, finally realising how dangerous the curse could be, "Drown herself?" the spider unwillingly slid down nearer the bucket of water on the window, the thing screeched and tried to get away but couldn't, Moody brought her back to sit in his palm, "Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the Imperius Curse. But here's the rub; how do we sort out the liars?"

There was a moment of silence, Hermione watched her classmate's faces, seeing the cold, hard truth sink in, she glanced at Draco, his expression mirrored hers, the thought of someone having ownership of him like that no doubt disturbed him in the same way it did her. He was staring at her with such intensity she found it to be quite unnerving, she turned her attention back to Moody,

"Another." Moody said and Hermione was disgusted to see people raise they're hands, how could they warrant answering? Especially knowing what the other two were.

"Longbottom." the professor pointed his wand to Neville, he stood tentatively,

"There's the, um, the Cruciatus Curse."

"Correct. Correct." the teacher replied, sounding quite excited, Hermione sucked in a breath as Moody led Neville over to the desk where he set the spider down on a magnifying glass, she could still feel Draco's gaze on her, making her feel rather paranoid, her thoughts an endless circle.

_Why is he looking at me...? __Dumbledore wouldn't actually allow Mad Eye to torture a poor insect, would he...? Surely he or McGonagall would have something to say about it if they found out...__Oh god, he's still staring...It's illegal, they can't honestly let a teacher...Stop it, Hermione, you know Draco has the attention span of a fly when it comes to subjects he finds boring, he's no doubt just drifted off! But- No! Stop it right now. _

"Particularly nasty one that..."

Hermione's stomach churned, she did not want to see this, there was no reason she should have to witness this, they only needed to know how to counter attack it, she could feel the bile in her throat,

"_Crucio!"_

The tarantula screeched and withered in agony, its legs half giving out under itself as it staggered, Hermione swallowed hard, turning her head to pointedly stare at the wall, her fists clenched, the bile rising, she tried to ignore it but no matter what she did she couldn't block out the poor insect's cries of suffering, she could see Neville trembling out of the corner of her eye -she'd nearly forgotten his parents had endured the same fate,

"Stop it!" she yelled, earning the attention of her fellow classmates, "Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!"

At first it appeared as if Moody hadn't heard, then after a second or two he realised and lowered his wand, looking between her and Neville, she had adverted her gaze, while the boy had shut his eyes tight, Moody lifted the spider, carried it over to Hermione's desk and set it down on her book,

"Perhaps you could give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger?"

She shook her head, not trusting her voice, as she bit back tears, it may have only been a spider but she would not play God and just end its life because she knew she could, she wasn't that cruel,

"No...? _Avada Kadavra!_"

Hermione refused to look at the dead tarantula, no more than a few inches away from her, fearing she might either cry or throw up if she did,

"The Killing Curse." Moody explained, making his way round the class, "Only one person is known to have survived it, and he's sitting in this room." he stopped at Harry's desk, scrutinising the dark-haired lad, he took a swig of whatever it was he always had on him, before clobbering back to the blackboard, "Class dismissed." he said as he wiped it clean with the eraser.

She didn't need to be told twice, she gently lifted the spider off her book and left it on Moody's desk, careful not to crush its tiny limbs in her hand, not that it would matter now, still she thought the thing deserved to be shown some kindness even if it was no longer alive, Hermione gave the professor a cold glare before collecting the rest of her books and storming out of the room, thoroughly sickened. She raced down the stairs, forcing Harry and Ron to run to keep up with her,

"Mione?" Harry said, sounding concerned and out of breath, she turned to face them brusquely, her hair whipping her face,

"Did you see the look on his face?" she asked in deep repugnance, deeper than what the Slytherins used when calling her a mudblood, "It was like he was enjoying it!"

"You have to admit," Ron spoke up, "he's bloody brilliant. Terrifying but brilliant."

"There's a reason those curses are unforgivable! And to use them in a classroom..."

She noticed Draco making his way down the staircase, Pansy and Goyle in tow, he looked her over once disquietly, she'd known him long enough to know it was his way of silently asking was she alright, she replied with the faintest of nods and an even more indefinite smile, her mouth barely turning up at the corners, anyone else and they wouldn't have even noticed, he carried on down the stairs, satisfied for now at least, more than likely he'd wait until they were put together in class and he'd worm it out of her one way or another, he had a curious way of making her open up, although he rarely opened up to her and when he did it was because she was really pressing him.

"What the hell was that?" Harry descended a few steps and leaned over the banister to stare after Draco before turning back to her, flabbergasted,

"What?" she asked, innocently, because she really had no idea what he was going on about, there was no way he'd have seen the unspoken, miniscule exchange between her and Draco, Harry just wasn't that perceptive,

"You smiled at Malfoy just now." he stated, contradicting her thoughts, Ron's jaw went slack and she continued down the stairs,

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would I smile at _him_?"

"I don't know but you did." Harry persisted,

"Bloody hell, Harry, you don't think he's slipped her a love potion, do you?"

"Really, Ronald, he hates me. And I can assure both of you that the feeling is mutual."

"Didn't look it." Harry muttered.

Hermione did not fancy the thought of Harry getting suspicious, she'd never liked keeping things from him but outright lying was ten times worse, she already felt guilt beginning to clog up her head, great, now she'd be thinking about what a terrible person she is while trying to study.

Harry ran down the steps and stopped in front of her, she tried to move out of the way and brush past him but he mimicked the movement, effectively blocking her, she sighed, rolling her eyes,

"Tell me the truth, Hermione. Now. Is there something between you and Malfoy?"

She refrained from biting her lip, if Harry could see her earlier hint of a smile, he was clearly more observant than she'd given him credit for, he'd know she was lying,

"No. I can't believe you'd even ask."

"But the smile just now...a-and at the World Cup he saved you!"

"Yeah, and he told us to take care of you!" Ron exclaimed, Harry nodded keenly, "Not those exact words but he threatened he'd make us pay if we didn't. Stupid, really, if you think about it because of course we'd take care of you! It's _us_ that should be worrying about _him_."

"Ugh!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air, "Listen to you two! Do you know why Malfoy saved me? Because although he's a no-good bully, what he's not is a murderer. And I did not smile at him!" she pushed past them, making her way to her next class.

She regretted underestimating Harry's intellect, she wanted to say he was being paranoid, but that was the problem, there _was_ something between her and Malfoy, a friendship of sorts, she was already lying to her friends, she couldn't really accuse them of being mad as well when she knew they were right. Hermione frowned, she wanted to be able to tell Harry and Ron the truth, but if she did that then sooner than later everyone would find out and she'd be forced to stay away from Draco, either because of her friends or because of his family.

After all Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, one who –if Draco's Boggart last term was anything to go by- regularly beat his son, something she'd felt sick and angry knowing.

Hermione highly doubted he'd have any quelms about killing them both if he found out.


	28. Myrtle Knows

Chapter 28

Myrtle Knows

The group of Hufflepuffs laughed as he furiously barged past them, his hair a mess, his usual sneer a thousand times more pronounced and malicious, his normally smooth, pressed robes were creased and putrid, even his posture was different, whereas it was normally arrogant and fluid now it was sloppy. He was going to kill Potter...after he had a much needed bath, that is. He felt as though he were swathed in grime, it was revolting, he wished Moody had transfigured him into a snake, at least then he might have been able to shed his skin, but had he? The mangy, old, dim-witted bastard? No. He'd turned Draco into a bloody ferret and stuffed him down Crabbe's trousers.

The blonde Slytherin shuddered at the memory of how close he'd come to Crabbe's awful, abhorrently cheap underwear, his ugly boxers that smelt of piss and probably hadn't been washed in days! It was disgusting, and that was putting it lightly! Ugh! He felt violated! The worst part was everytime he tried to put it from his mind, his skin would crawl and the smell would imbue his nostrils once more, effectively ruining all chances he had of forgetting about the incident.

Then, of course, there was the majority of the school's laughter to remind him, even his housemate's joined in, all because Potty had won over yet another teacher!

Draco ran as fast as he could through the courtyard, down the corridors, up the ever-unpredictable staircases, trying to ignore the sniggering of his fellow students, their taunting and the way they moved back, not because they respected him or even because they were scared of him, but because he stank something rotten, they covered their noses, wafting the air away from them as he passed. He did not like being on this end of the stick. Just wait until he was clean and back to his normal self, they'd be sorry then!

He'd thought the day couldn't get much worse until he saw Granger descending the stairs he'd been about to climb up, her eyes widening at the sight of him, he groaned internally, of all the people that had seen him like this, -the worst state he'd ever been in- why did she have be one of them?

"Malfoy?" she said, looking horrified, he followed her gaze as she turned to glance at that Katie Bell, who she often hung around with, the darker-haired girl not even bothering to hide her grin, Granger turned back to him with an apologetic and confused expression.

He ought to have ran, if it were anyone else by now he would have, but it was her, he seized up, nervousness welling in gut, worming its way up through his entire being, choking him. When had he become such a whimp around her? He felt vulnerable, insecure, like one wrong word from her would reduce him to nothing.

Oh, God, he was turning into Longbottom! Someone kill him.

"What happened?" he heard her ask, as he stared off, mortified and scared of the growing feeling that was overwhelming him, he heard her calling his name but he wasn't listening, for the first time in his life her voice was a momentary blur, just a noise in the background, but only because he was trying to figure out the reason behind his sudden defencelessness, where was that damn fort he'd built around himself? Where was his flawless mask? Where was his blasted sense of pride?

He shook his head, she couldn't possibly make him feel this weak, he was a Malfoy, he wasn't supposed to let stupid emotions get the better of him.

Fearful grey eyes met equally fearful brown ones, though he highly doubted they held the same kind of dread, her brows were furrowed, her full lips parted slightly as if she was about to say something, he had to get away from her, he had to stop these thoughts, these feelings, so he backed down the steps and up another set instead. Praying that she didn't notice he smelt like the back end of a dog.

After having rode the staircases numerous times, so as to avoid bumping into Granger again, Draco finally made it the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor, he ran the hot water, the bath magically filling with bubbles of its own accord, he ripped off his robe, throwing it aside and kicking off his shoes, he gave one weary glance at the door to make certain it was locked before stripping off completely and slipping into the large tub, big enough to fit twenty people and still have loads of room. He allowed himself to sink under the water's surface for a moment, then came up to grab the emerald green cloth embroiled in silver with the Slytherin crest, he began scrubbing his skin roughly enough to leave it red raw.

He couldn't imagine what Granger must have thought when she'd seen him looking such a mess.

He did have quite the reputation, he had no idea how he'd earned that particular title but for some reason very much unknown to him people seemed to think he was somewhat of a Casanova, which was entirely untrue and he certainly didn't want her thinking that about him, she probably thought bad enough of him as it was.

It took nearly an hour but eventually he felt clean and could relax into the scalding water, letting out a sigh of pleasure, he closed his eyes, tipping his head back, he ran his hands through his damp hair, sleeking it back until it looked quite like it had his first two years or so at this good-for-nothing school.

That's when he heard it, the shrill giggling of a girl who'd died God knows when, he didn't care how long she'd been here or how horrible her death may have been, he just wanted to applaud the person who killed her,

"What do you want, Myrtle?" he demanded to know, gritting his teeth, he'd just started to feel a little better and no doubt that pathetic ghost would go and ruin it,

"Oh, hello, Draco." she smiled that nauseatingly girlish smile of hers, "This bathroom is for Prefects only, you know." her eyes darted to his bare chest, "Naughty." she giggled, daring her eyes to go lower, he shivered at the thought of being alone with her.

Myrtle dived into the tub with a high-pitched scream that hurt his ears, she moved through the water as any ghost would, without even making a splash, it was evidence that she didn't belong in this world at all, that she ought to have moved on or whatever by now and given the lads at Hogwarts some peace,

"Why don't you go and haunt some dreary graveyard or something? Maybe rattle a few chains while you're at it."

To his surprise she didn't seem at all offended by him rudely reminding her she was dead, in fact her smile grew and she snuggled up against him, much to his distaste. He jumped back instinctively and slipped, splashing about in the water as he tried to keep himself from falling and hitting his head on the side of the tub, if he did that then he'd be left here forever with Moaning Myrtle which was quite ironically a fate worse than death. When he finally managed to stand, he was breathing heavily through panic and Myrtle was still giggling, her head titled to the side with her hand pressed to her mouth, as if she were some adorably shy little girl. She wasn't.

"I thought you were going to drown just then." she sighed wistfully, "I nearly got my hopes up."

Draco glared at her,

"And have to put up with you? No, thanks. I'd rather kiss a m-" he stopped himself before he could say anymore.

Of course, he'd rather kiss a mudblood! Although, honestly, Granger was the only one he knew whom he'd consider kissing, the thought was extremely appealing to him, her lips, he was sure, would be soft, they had to be, they would be a contrast to the harsh words that left her mouth, more often than not aimed at him. He would be able to breathe in her scent -which was strange mix of orchids, peppermint toothpaste and dusty old books- without looking like a creep.

But she was his friend! They weren't like that! They would never be like that! Admittedly he had thought that he might be falling in love with her but that just stupid, wasn't it? The closest he'd come to any other girl was Parkinson. How could he be dumb enough to think he was in love when he had no idea what it felt like? He was being an idiot. It was no more than a crush and who could blame him? She was the only girl he actually liked, the only person in the entire world who he trusted, she was beautiful, intelligent, witty. He fancied her but he didn't love her, he was a pureblood, she wasn't, therefore it wasn't possible he could feel that way about her. He really didn't want to either, knowing full well he couldn't be with her.

"Oh, that hurts." Myrtle pouted with sarcasm, it was really beginning to piss him off that she wasn't in the least bit offended, he'd been hoping she would get angry and leave, apparently he was going to have to try harder,

"I was quite enjoying myself, you know?" he said, ignoring her fingers tracing the budding muscles in his arms and the way she moronically batted her eyelashes, "Before you turned up. You're lucky you're already dead because the mood I'm in I could kill you myself!"

That got to her. She recoiled, floating above him, with a deadly, threatening look marring her already unattractive face, her hands balled into fists, she screeched, causing him to have to cover his ears, he ducked his head just enough to miss the candlestick that she hurled at him, it hit the floor with a heavy clatter and she screeched again, more furious than before.

Suddenly she was in his face,

"You think you're so great, don't you, Draco?" she bellowed, attempting to hit him but her fist just ran straight through his head, like a mist, a fog inside his head, it was awful, eerie and rather disturbing, "How would you feel if some big brute came along and _killed _you right now? Took _everything_ away from you? How would you feel if your mummy and daddy just forgot about you? How would you feel if y-"

"You think my life is easy? I hate it!" he growled, Myrtle just stared at him, slightly dumbfounded, "Bloody trolls and werewolves are treated better than me. I'm told how I must live my life, from what I wear in the morning to who my friends are..." his eyes narrowed as he thought of another thing that he disliked about his life, he didn't even stop to catch his breath before he continued, "-and that's another thing, I'm not allowed to be friends with just anyone. Oh no, they have to be approved by my parents. I'm not allowed to even _talk_ to her without insulting her!" he was too busy ranting to notice Myrtle quirk her eyebrows at the slight twist, "It's a wonder she ever forgave me. She's far too kind for her own good!"

It was true. Everyone thought he had it all but there was one thing he wanted more than anything and that was a proper friend, Granger had been that, before he mucked it up, he liked to think she'd be that again if it wasn't for his father. He might have had money and status, but it was so meaningless without her.

Damn bloody Granger, he'd been perfectly shallow before she came along!

"She talks about you though." the ghost's voice stopped him as he was about to climb out of the bath, "All the time. Sometimes, after you've yelled at her, she comes in here and just cries for hours and hours on end."

His chest constricted with guilt, his brows tightly knit together, his expression deeply troubled,

"I thought she knew...well, I mean, I told her we couldn't be friends and...I thought she knew that we'd both have to carry on as normal. It'll never work, even if I want it to, she's a mudbloo-"

Myrtle laughed a little at that,

"She's not a muggle-born, silly!"

His heart stopped. If Granger wasn't a mudblood why not just tell him? Unless, of course, it was all a ploy so that she wouldn't have to be his friend. If that was the case why would she call the truce? No. It didn't make any sense. Logically he knew it must have been a misunderstanding,

"What do you mean?" he finally asked, confused,

"Well, you should know."

"I should know what?" he bit out, "Who are you talking about?"

"Pansy Parkinson."

Now it made sense. Parkinson still fancied him, even after all the years he'd made it clear he didn't even like her as a human being –though maybe he had been too harsh. And Granger was still a mudblood. He felt something inside him fracture, for a moment he'd hoped it was all one big mistake, that maybe Myrtle knew something no-one else did, maybe Granger was really a pureblood after all, maybe they could be together. In a completely platonic way of course...! Although he did like to think that- N-no, no! _Platonic, companionable, non_-romantic way.

He climbed out of the bath, hurriedly wrapping a towel around his waist with a frail attempt to ignore Myrtle's intake of breath and quite perverted giggling, he grabbed another towel and began drying his face and hair off,

"Who were you talking about a moment ago?" Myrtle asked, suddenly suspicious.

Draco froze, his skin cold despite having been in the scalding hot bath for nearly two hours, he had let it slip more than once, he was getting terribly worse at hiding his feelings and biting his tongue, if fact, any idiot would think he wanted people to know, which was entirely ridiculous, firstly because it would ruin his reputation, secondly his father would kill him and thirdly there was nothing going on between him and her, nor any _real _feelings to make common knowledge.

Alright, so perhaps he did sort of fancy her. Zabini thought she was pretty too, Krum couldn't keep his bloody eyes off her and Potter, well, he was all over her. This particular thought only served to annoy him further. Non of them deserved her.

"Draco?" the ghost pressed,

"No-one."

"You were talking about someone...a girl...you said she was a-"

"It's none of your damn business, Myrtle!" he snapped, his voice an octave too high,

"You're awfully agitated over such a simple question." she teased, appearing beside him, he jumped, breathing heavily,

"Sod off."

"Let's see...it couldn't be me. You've made it obvious you hate me, besides I'm dead." she laughed a little at that before carrying on, there were a fair few mudbloods in Hogwarts but the majority were boys, and Draco knew it wouldn't take Myrtle long to figure it out, "There's that Ravenclaw Laura Price, then there's Hannah Abbot, though I'm not certain about her, she might be a half-blood, Natalie Thorne, Florence Knightly-"

"Myrtle. Enough! I d-didn't...I wasn't talking about anyon-" he clenched his jaw as he tried to stop her from going any further, she was rapidly making her way through all the muggle born girls at the school,

"Maddie Barton and not forgetting Hermione Granger, of course, everyone knows her, apparently she's the brightest witch of her age," thankfully for him Myrtle was too wound up in her jealousy to notice him blanch, "everyone thinks she's so pretty and smart! Well, I suppose she _is_ nice, still the point is I could have been the brightest witch of _my_ age if I hadn't been murdered by a big br..." Myrtle trailed off finally catching a glimpse of his face, "It's her, isn't it?"

The question resounded in his ears, meaning so much more to him than it did the ghost and to his surprise Myrtle burst out in fits of shrill giggles, loud enough that he thought his ears might actually bleed,

"You're not honestly going to tell me _you_ wanted to be _Hermione Granger_'s friend? You hate her! She hates you, though with good reason, you are absolutely horrid to her half the time!"

Draco kept his stormy eyes aimed at the floor as he quickly got dressed, his hands balled into fists, with Myrtle still laughing hystericlly. The ghost was right.

He'd thought Potter and Krum were bad for using her but he was worse, at least they hadn't hurt her. Yet, anyway, and if they did they wouldn't live long enough to regret it, he'd make sure of it, he owed her that much.


	29. The Little Things Give You Away

Chapter 29

The Little Things Give You Away

The mask was back. The Draco Malfoy that everyone knew and loathed was back and he was more than pleased. He'd managed to compartmentalise his emotions once again, tuned every ounce of guilt, loneliness and pain out, mentally reassuring himself with arrogant thoughts, boosting his ego by flirting with practically every Slytherin girl he knew.

His fellow students all deeply regretted having made fun of him the other day, because, when he wanted to, Draco could make his words rip through people like an Animagus with razor sharp teeth, it was a talent he was proud of. Well, most of the time.

He sat in the library with Crabbe and Zabini, studying for his upcoming Ancient Runes essay, he was becoming increasingly frustrated listening to the pair prattle on, more often than not arguing over every minuscule detail, making it very hard for him to focus. He had to get this right, he'd only gotten a mark of ninety-four last time, which according to his father was appalling. Lucius Malfoy had said if his son did ever miraculously manage make something of himself with such low scores it would be a disgrace to the family name. Besides he honestly didn't want to be beaten with the cane again, he was fourteen for crying out loud and yet still treated like a mangy house-elf by his father!

Another reason he was pissed off was because it was also the weekend, it wasn't a bad day either, he should have been outside practicing for the Quidditch match next fortnight instead of being cooped up inside studying like...well, like Granger.

It wasn't getting any easier. He didn't even want to think how many people knew at this point, there must have been three or four at the very least.

Zabini was the first to figure it out, he was the one who'd unwittingly persuaded him to push her away, then there was Snape, he'd caught Draco sneaking into the hospital wing to see her Petrified form in second year, Crabbe and Goyle were pretty thick but they were beginning to realise he had a soft spot for her, especially after he let her get away with punching him last year and now Myrtle! It was actually worse than he thought. But thankfully for some reason they were all keeping their mouths' shut.

Zabini was probably biding his time until he could finally use his knowledge against him, Crabbe and Goyle weren't quite certain and Myrtle wanted a friend, she'd more or less blackmailed him, which honestly he'd never thought her capable of, but he had to admit he admired her opportunism.

Snape was the only one who had nothing to gain from it, he had seen Draco with his own eyes, so why hadn't he told Lucius? Anyone else would have. However, Snape had made it evident he didn't like his father, maybe that was it, maybe Snape knew what his father would do to him, not to mention he was quite fond of his mother, Narcissa, maybe Snape didn't want Lucius to know and punish Draco because it would hurt both his friend and godson.

Whatever the reason the blonde Slytherin was grateful that for now everyone was willing to keep it quiet.

As it was the weekend they were allowed to wear their own clothes and as usual Draco looked like a model in his snugly fitted dark green jumper, black jeans and black military boots. The majority of his male housemates had ran their hands through their hair, trying to make it look as perfectly tousled as his, leaving most of them looking scruffy, like they'd had a rough night or some like they'd been dragged through a hedge even and, of course, the girls were all in awe of him, smiling at him, complimenting him. He smirked to himself thinking of how regrettably attractive he was.

"What is it, Draco?" Zabini said, his tone taunting, "Thinking of Pansy...or someone else?"

Draco snorted, trying to pretend he didn't hear the last bit,

"Actually I was thinking how troublesome it is being as good looking as I am, but then you wouldn't know how that feels, would you Zabini?"

"Heh, like I'd care for such petty things." the darker skinned lad grumbled as Crabbe muttered some sort of first year incantation under his breath, suddenly there was numerous loud _thump_s followed by a audible gasp and a prefect telling them to settle down.

Draco looked up to find Granger collecting her books awkwardly, her brows knit as they always were when she was flustered, he felt an incredible urge to walk over there and help her, all he would have to do was act like he was deliberately feigning innocence so as not to get detention, he might even have given her a sly compliment, backhanded enough to fool everyone but clear enough that she'd understand, it wasn't like he wasn't an excellent liar.

It was just for a brief moment he seized up again, only this time it was different, he didn't feel so much vulnerable as he did entranced.

He'd never noticed how graceful she was before, the way she bent down, tucking her skirt underneath her in a ladylike manner, how she elegantly reached out to pick up another book, she looked utterly lovely today as well. She wore a simple cream shirt with mid length sleeves, a pink floral skirt, brown tights and pink pumps, her wayward curls pulled into a messy, loose plait. He hadn't seen her look like a proper girl in ages. She had tried to make a bit more effort the beginning of second term, though she quickly got fed up with it and started wearing jeans and jumpers again, not that she didn't look good in them, she did, but she looked especially good in skirts.

He watched her as she hugged multiple books to her chest and giving one slightly annoyed glance around the library, frustrated she couldn't find the culprit, she gave a _hmph_ and headed over to her favourite corner, furthest from the door, in a quiet, secluded little space where no-one would bother her. Before he really thought about what he was doing, Draco had stood and began collecting his own things, Zabini stared up at him in disbelief, the blonde Slytherin ignored him, he made his way over to Granger, trying to avoid too many people catching him, though he did hear a fair few of them whispering.

She sat at the wooden desk, too engrossed in what she liked to call 'light reading' to notice him standing there. Draco rolled his eyes and smiled, the book she had buried her head in was no less than two thousand pages long. How on earth she saw that as _light_ he'll never know!

Without a word he set his things down, she heard the clatter his things made as they hit the table but she didn't look up, she just flipped the yellowed page, he took the seat beside her and got to work, it was far easier to focus on his essay with the peace and quite and her ever-comforting presence. He'd definitely missed the way just being with her somehow seemed to calm him, despite his newfound nervousness around her.

"Malfoy?" came her shocked tone, he looked up to find her gaping a little, "What are you doing?"

"Studying." he answered matter-of-factly, his lips pulled into a smirk, "We are in the library after all, Granger."

"No." she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, "I meant why are you sitting with me?"

The smirk vanished, he let his gaze drop to his notebook,

"Do you want me to leave?" he hadn't intended to sound _that _bitter when he said it.

At first she didn't reply, so he turned to meet her eyes, she was staring at him as if he'd grown two heads or something,

"No, of course not." she breathed, her dark orbs taking him in.

He had the satisfaction of seeing her blush, she swallowed hard and blinked a couple of times before turning back to her reading, he followed suit, picking up his quill, he continued with his work.

The seconds ticked by, both remained quiet, it was a companionable silence, one that allowed them to focus on what it was they were doing. Although, for Draco there was a nagging voice in the back of his head, thinking about her. It was usually loud and rather annoying whereas now it was a murmur, because he didn't need to wonder what was going on inside her own head, he simply had to look up and he'd know.

Granger wasn't like him. She wasn't good at hiding her feelings, she was open and honest, sometimes painfully. He supposed that was what he loved about her; she was his polar opposite, and she just might be able to turn him into as much a good person as he could possibly be.

Scratch that. It's what he_ liked_ about her. He didn't mean to say 'love'. Of course, it was more fitting than 'liked' but still he meant it in a general sort of way, not the romantic kind.

Not long after that his hand fell still, he knew full well how conspicuous it would be to sit there and just watch her read with what was truthfully a pathetically rapt look on his face, not that he cared in the least, he couldn't describe it but everything about this picture was right.

Just her and him. How it was supposed to be.

"Stop it." she mumbled, startling him a tad,

"What?" he asked, still a little dazzled by her,

"Staring at me. Viktor does it all the time. It's quite annoying."

His nose scrunched as it always did when he was disgusted by something, handsome features pulled into a half-sneer,

"I'm sorry." she said quietly, "It's just...I can't focus while you're doing that."

Draco jutted his chin out slightly in a sort of half nod and began writing again, avoiding looking at her,

"How is _Krum_?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Heh. I doubt that. He spends enough time around you." again he sounded more embittered than he would have liked,

"Yes, but he doesn't talk. He's very reticent."

"Hmph." Draco replied, then muttered under his breath, "Probably too busy thinking what a lucky sod he is!"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The great Bulgarian bonbon was beginning to get on his nerves, he'd come to Hogwart's with the rest of the Durmstrangs to compete in the Triwizard Tournament and he hadn't taken his eyes off Granger since the moment he walked through those doors. Albeit Draco couldn't really blame him, it was still extremely irritating.

Not that Krum was the only champion trying to impress Granger, Potty had found a way to put his name in the Goblet of Fire, despite being much too young for the competition and there was very little anyone could do about it. The contract was binding, once you entered there was no going back.

In a way he was pleased, Potter would die sooner or later and he would no longer be able to plague them with his existence, but on the other hand...he had Granger's undivided attention as she tried to help him out of the mess he'd somehow gotten himself into. The stupid Scarhead would certainly sink that incredibly low as to use the Tournament to lure her in, wouldn't he? He must've known how worried she would be, as much as Draco hated to admit it, she did care about Potty and he was clearly using that to his advantage. It was appalling the sort of mind games he played on her! If it was Draco, he'd have just let him rot.

A ruthless grin pulled at his perfect features; the first task was only two days away, rumour was they'd be up against dragons.

Draco couldn't wait to see Potter get eaten, he would finally be rid of the blasted, horrible, foul, holier-than-thou tosser, and there would be no-one to steal Granger away from him. Everything was going to change for the better once Potty kicked the bucket. He would have to celebrate, perhaps he'd sneak into Hogsmeade and have a few drinks. Yeah, that's what he'd do, and he'd do it every single year from then on. An annual party for the Boy-Who-Died.

"I can't believe what Moody did to you the other day." Granger's voice sliced through his gleeful thoughts, "He's a teacher, he ought to have known better!"

Draco cringed at the memory of being stuffed down Crabbe's trousers. Why? Why did she have to go and remind him of that? Did she want to torment him? Or had the silence become that awkward for her that she felt the need to break the ice with that particular topic?

"Though, admittedly you were tormenting Harry -_again_." she amended, backtracking.

He turned to look at her, his face contorted into a half-snide, half-shocked expression, his mouth hung open. First she reminds him of the most hulmiliating thing that's ever happened to him then she basically says he deserved it? What on earth...?

"Potter's a prat."

"He's not the only one." she said cooly,

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco snapped, the muscle in his jaw flexing.

Her eyes darkened, she slammed her book closed with a loud thud, earning them a few bewildered gazes from the other students. Marvellous!

"It means that you can be absolutely horrid at times but he hasn't once tried to hex you!"

"Oh, and if he did do you think Moody would have turned _him_ into a ferret?"

The anger drained away for a second, she was about to declare that he would have but stopped herself, realising it was far from the truth,

"That's...besides the point."

"Yeah." he snorted, the grin returning, "Because Potter won't last five minutes in this tournament!" he'd have gladly paid his father the ten sickles just to see the Boy-Who-He-Wanted-To-Throttle get his arse handed to him in the first few minutes.

Draco had turned back to his essay when Granger, recovering from the horror of what he'd just said, managed a small gasp, he chuckled to himself,

"Don't worry, Granger, I'll always be a shoulder for you to cry o-" suddenly something heavy hit his arm, he let out a hiss and glanced around as she hit him with her oversized book a second time,

"How can you say something so horrible?" _smack,_ "You might hate him-" _smack,_ "but he's my friend and I-" _smack,_ "wouldn't know," _smack,_ "what to do without him!"

"Ow! Christ sakes, Granger, that hurts!" he practically yelled, "Hit me once more with that book and I swear I'll feed it to Fluffy!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me!" he dared, menacingly.

She glanced at the book in her hands, then at him, then back again, at first he thought she was going to get up and leave but then the heavy monstrosity collided with his arm for the umpteenth time, it stung, he could practically feel the bruises blossoming along his skin. He let out a growl and reached for the book.

Granger jumped up, raising the book above her head, which was pointless considering that he was taller than her. The one thing he hadn't counted on was how fast her reflexes were, but then they'd have to be, wouldn't they? The amount of times she'd have relied on them to survive. All thanks to Potter and his deadly adventures. Everytime Draco thought he had a shot at snatching the book off her she would move it back or switch hands, he ended up chasing her around the desk,

"Stop it, Malfoy! You're being childish! And anyway it's a school book, you can't ruin it!"

He rolled his head in exasperation, she was really trying his patience, though a small part of him felt it was actually somewhat amusing, enjoyable even,

"I told you not to bloody hit me!"

"And how many times have I told you to leave Harry alone?"

Draco was aware that the majority of the library inhabitants were watching them, some with amused expressions but most were confused, it wasn't the typical sort of fight they expected from the two, this one was more...friendly, he supposed.

Finally he managed to corner her, effectively trapping her between himself and the bookshelf, she refused to give in though, standing on her tip toes and stretching her arm as much as she could to keep the book safely away from him, he could see she was straining, with little effort he reached up, his pale fingers clasping round the thick spine of the book,

"Hand it over, Granger!" he said,

"Shove off, Malfoy!" she replied, crossly.

It was then he realised how close they were, he could feel the heat radiating off her body, the body that flawlessly fit against his, her lips, a pretty rose in colour, a delicate cupid bow in shape, her complexion the finest porcelain he'd ever seen with a light dusting of freckl-

"Malfoy?"

He looked at her with wide eyes,

"Are you alright?" she asked and he knew he was blushing slightly.

Gah! He was a Malfoy, he wasn't supposed to blush!

Draco staggered back, his heartbeat erratic, his lungs not working properly, what on earth was the matter with him? He stormed out the library, avoiding meeting anyone's eye. Why couldn't he keep his composure around her anymore? What was happening to him? Why had he imagined kissing her? Again, that is! Why had he felt such an undeniable urge stroke her cheek? Amongst other things, that is.

He was ill, that was it. But then it could easily have been one of the Slytherin girls mucking around with love potions.

Either way he would go to Madame Pomfrey at once and demand to know what in Merlin's name was wrong with him.


	30. The Yule Ball

**A/N: Not to happy with this one, think I could've done more to it. Anyway, I would've updated earlier but I've had the flu, I'm fine now though :) RxR please! **

* * *

Chapter 30 

The Yule Ball

Hermione took a deep breath, she peeked her head around the corner, not at all certain she wanted to do this.

It was Christmas eve, the night of the Yule Ball, one she would be attending with non other than the infamous Viktor Krum, she wore a power blue tiered lace dress, with a sweetheart neckline, her hair in an elegant bun with a few stray curls left to fall over her shoulder, she even had on a touch of make-up. She should have felt like a princess instead she felt out of sorts and as though everyone would look at her, see her date and think she was trying too hard to impress him. Admittedly, she was to some extent, but she had chosen to wear the dress mostly because she'd loved how she felt in it when she'd tried it on, now she felt it was almost too pretty for someone as plain as herself to wear.

Taking another breath, she decided it was too late to turn back now, she had spent too much time getting ready -a whole three hours- to throw it away. So despite the tightness in her stomach and her head yelling at her that she wasn't cut out for this type of thing, she forced her feet to keep moving forward.

She heard a sharp intake of breath followed by the familiar airy voice of Luna Lovegood, Harry's date for the evening,

"My, doesn't she look beautiful?"

"Yeah, she does." Harry replied, his back towards Hermione as he stared after Cho Chang who had arrived with Cedric Diggory, usually she'd have been quite annoyed but not tonight, if there was one thing she really liked about Luna it was that she wasn't one to lie, which made her compliment all the more meaningful.

Upon realising that Luna wasn't talking about Cho, Harry turned in the direction his date was looking and raised his eyebrows in shock before an awestruck smile pulled at his lips.

Hermione hadn't even made it to the last step when Viktor rounded the corner, he gave a small bow and offered her his hand, she happily took it, allowing him to lead her into the Great Hall with a tiny wave at Harry.

She entered the Great Hall, her arm in Viktor's, with Fleur Delacour and her date leading the way, and Cedric and Cho behind them, while Harry and Luna brought up the rear. To think only moments ago she'd dreaded the thought of everyone looking at her but now that they were, she was actually enjoying it, she was beaming, knowing full well she'd be the envy of every girl there.

Yes, she'd have preferred for Viktor to be more loquacious, she'd rather an intellectual debate than staring dreamily into someone's eyes, still it didn't mean he wasn't charming.

"Is that the_ Mudblood_?" Pansy Parkinson practically spat out, "With Viktor Krum?"

"No." she heard Draco sneer, "Absolutely not."

The Champions and their dates were to be the first to dance. She was terrified, dancing was not her strong suit, she'd learnt that the hard way when she begged her parents to pay for ballet lessons and caused the teacher to leave. She risked a worried glance at Viktor and he gave a small smile,

"It vill be fine, Her-mon-nin-nee." he whispered, usually she'd have tried to teach him how to pronounce her name properly, but she just nodded and put her hand on his shoulder, he took her waist, his left hand holding hers and they began to dance, she stumbled a little at first, standing on his foot,

"Sorry." she mumbled, he just grinned at her and lifted her into the air while spinning, she couldn't help but laugh, he was so kind-hearted, so patient that it made her feel somewhat at ease, in that brief moment she felt deeply guilty for ever thinking his attention bothersome, he set her down again they danced around the hall, with him occasionally spinning her around or dipping her back. He was an excellent dancer and not a bad teacher either, before she knew it she was dancing her heart out regardless of how self-conscious she felt.

About an hour into the night, the violinist and pianists playing their soft melodies were replaced by the Weird Sisters playing their loud, thumping music, and what had started out as poised ballroom dancing had turned into a sort of rock concert, Hermione didn't mind at all, she was much better at jumping up and down anyway...

_Move ya body like a hairy troll, _

_Learning to rock 'n roll, _

_Spin around like a crazy elf, _

_Dancing by himself, _

_Get down like a unicorn, _

_No stopping til the break of dawn,_

_Put your hands up in the air, _

_Like an ogre that just don't care!_

_Can you dance a Hippogriff?_

_Muh ma, muh ma, muh ma, muh ma! _

She could feel her hair coming loose, her skin was hot and she was a little out of breath but she just couldn't stop laughing, she was having so much fun with Viktor, not only had he treated her like a princess the entire time but he hadn't once turned to look at any other girl. He made her feel cherished!

He led her away from the hordes of people, she clutched onto his arm, glowing, he kissed her hand and left her to get some drinks, she took a deep breath like she had earlier and spun around, her hands on her head, she was almost convinced this was all one marvellous dream, if so, she never wanted to wake up,

"Ruddy old tosser, isn't he?" a familiar voice said scathingly from a few feet away, she glanced around to find Draco surprisingly sitting beside a lonely looking Harry as Luna had long gotten up to dance on her own, the Slytherin's date however, Pansy Parkinson, looked rather irritated that he was ignoring her.

He appeared to be in an awful mood, why though, especially on a night like this, she couldn't fathom, she decided to make her way over to the pair, not sure how it would look if she asked the both of them would they like a drink, still felt she had to do it anyway as both boys seemed seriously in the dumps,

"Don't think it was the books that had him going for the library." Harry agreed.

Hermione frowned, what on earth were they talking about? It almost sounded like they were talking about her and Viktor, which was utterly ridiculous, she shook the thought away, she was being silly and she wasn't about to let her insecurities ruin such a fantastic evening.

She took the seat beside Harry, he gazed at her with bored eyes,

"Harry, Malfoy...odd that you two are talking." she said, mostly to herself, when neither responded –Harry was apparently staring at Draco in shock, as if finally realising who he'd been talking to- she decided to try and break the acidic tension, "Hot, isn't it?" she leaned forward to smile at both of them, "Viktor's gone to go and get drinks, would you care to join us? Both of you, I mean?"

Harry looked gobsmacked at that last part, Pansy pulled a face and Draco rolled his eyes,

"No, we would not care to join you and _Viktor_!" the blonde spat, glowering at her before slouching further into his seat.

She'd never seen him slouch before.

"What's got your wand in a knot this time?" she asked, leaning over Harry,

"He's a Durmstrang!" Draco hissed, "You're fraternising with the enemy!"

"The enemy?" she repeated, incredulous, her once happy face contorting into a scowl, "You barely even know Cedric and you loath Harry-"

"She's got a poin-" the Boy-Who-Lived chipped in,

"Shut up, Potter!" Draco muttered, while Hermione just carried on,

"And anyway who was it wanting his autograph? Besides the whole point of the tournament is to make friends!"

Draco grunted, his face pulled into a nasty glare,

"I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind!"

Hermione was too busy trying to refrain from bursting into tears and hitting him again to notice both Harry and Pansy's confused expressions, she blinked a few times, to keep herself from crying, and stood, refusing to look at him. If he cared that bloody much then why hadn't he asked her to go with him instead? She spun around, about to ask him just that but decided against it, with Pansy there he'd probably just laugh and call her a mudblood or something and she honestly didn't think she'd be able to take that as well as everything else. She composed herself and walked over to Viktor, not wanting him to know how ghastly she felt.

* * *

"He's using you!" Draco snarled as he stormed out of the Great Hall.

He couldn't believe her. He'd thought she'd have come with Potter or Longbottom, at least they wouldn't be looking to get in to her knickers the way Krum obviously was! His hands had been all over her back there, the two of them laughing and joking, him whispering something into her ear, a load of pretty lies no doubt!

God, he'd wanted to hex him so badly. Badly enough that he didn't even realise he was venting his frustration with Potter until she came over to ask them would they like to join her and _Viktor _for drinks! Ha! Like he'd want to sit their watching some older bloke ogling his best friend! And since when had they been on first name basis? They'd only known each other all of four months, he'd known her four _years_ and he still called her 'Granger', she still called him 'Malfoy', so where the hell did Krum get off calling her Hermy-non-nee? Idiot couldn't even get her name right!

"How dare you?" she said, furious as she followed him outside, "And I can take care of myself!"

Draco scoffed,

"Oh, can you? He's far too old! It's disturbing!"

"_What?"_ she exploded, as they reached the desolate courtyard adorned with little white fairy lights, "That's what you think?"

"Yeah, that's what I think!" he stuffed his hands into his pockets, giving his trademark lazy half-shrug, knowing it would piss her off, sure enough she came bounding towards him and he found himself backing away, a tad scared of her,

"You know what to do then, don't you?"

He spread his arms out wide, sarcastically searching for an answer, she glared daggers at him but it was marred by the tears welling up in her eyes, he felt a stab of guilt, one that was quickly replaced by anger, jealously and hurt when he remembered her dancing with Krum.

"Next time there's a ball forget how it'll look and pluck up the courage to ask me before somebody else does!"

He froze, mentally scolding himself for letting their argument get this far, first he'd ruined her night, secondly he'd made her cry and thirdly he'd put himself in a position he wasn't sure he'd be able to get out of. There was less than a handful of responses to that. Two actually; either he could admit he was wrong and apologise or he could call her a mudblood and push her away. The former left him more open than he'd have liked, giving her the means to hurt him, the latter, on the other hand, blocked out his feelings and was far less terrifying but it meant hurting her more so than he had already.

He should have stopped when he said Krum was using her.

"I will then next time!" he snapped, instantly regretting it.

It wasn't the response she'd been expecting if her reaction was anything to go by, her eyes met his, she was too smart for this, between him saving her at the World Cup and now this she was bound to figure out that he had feelings for her that he couldn't deny no matter how hard he tried.

"Good!" she replied with much less bite, shock substituting her anger,

"Fine!" he ground out, unsure what to say,

"Fine!"

There was a moment of silence, both pointedly avoiding looking at the other, he knew that she would probably leave any minute, run off to her room and cry a bit more, he didn't want that, he'd only just got her back, he couldn't muck it up this time, this was the only chance he was going to get to show her that it's because she's important to him that he acts like a prat around her -oddly enough.

"Want to dance?" he said, tentatively, shifting his weight from his right foot to his left.

Her head shot up,

"What?"

Oh, God, she wasn't going to make him say it again, was she? Apparently so.

"Do you want to dance, Granger? With me? In case you're too thick to comprehend that's what I meant!"

"Take that back! You know I'm not thick!"

Funny how of all the nasty things he'd said to her tonight, what she considered the worst was that he'd called her stupid. Typical Granger.

"I'm sorry! Now will you dance with me?"

She sucked in a shaky breath,

"Why should I?" she fired back defiantly, Draco ran a hand through his hair in frustration,

"Because...!" he trialled off, looking for the words, he sighed and when he spoke again his voice was much softer, almost defeated, "I'm asking you."

After what seemed like an eternity she nodded, regardless of this, neither moved, finally Draco realised there was little point in practically begging her to dance if he wasn't going to actually dance with her.

So he gauchely moved forward and took her right hand in his, his other hand on her waist, he'd expected it to feel awkward but in fact it felt impossibly right, as though they were two broken halves of a chess piece that had finally been put back together, he wished they could be like this forever.

Draco spun her around and her small smile spread across her face until she could no longer hold in her laughter, it was so happy and joyous that it caused him to laugh as well, he pulled on the suit jacket of his dress robes, swaying from side to side, while biting his lip, she giggled as she jumped up and down, swinging her head back and forth, nearly all of her hair came away from the pins holding it in place,

"Afraid I'm not as fancy as Krum." he admitted, as they danced, albeit badly.

She stared at him the way she always did, her eyes searching, attempting to read his mind, he hated how vulnerable she made him but he wouldn't pull the shutters down on her now, it wasn't fair, the least he could do is let her find whatever it was she was looking for and have that be the end of it.

He stopped dancing, so did she, she was about to say something but he cut her off by tucking a stray hair behind her ear,

"You're beautiful." he murmured almost to himself, he could feel the heat on his hand and knew she was blushing, though he couldn't see it through the dark,

"Her-mona-nee?"

Draco snatched his hand away and scowled, he watched as Granger's eyes went wide,

"Viktor!" she said, crossing her arms over her chest uncomfortably,

"I vas vundering vhere you ran off too. You seemed upset before." Draco heard the Durmstrang say from behind him,

"I'm alright now. Thank you."

The blonde Slytherin watched as she took the drink Krum offered and smiled,

"I'll...um...I suppose I'll see you in the morning, Malfoy." with that she took Krum's arm and went inside.

Draco let out another sigh, staring up at the stars, there is was, the constellation Hydra, usually he found the twinkling diamonds comforting, tonight, he realised, was far from normal,

"Would you like a drink, sir?" a waiter asked, pushing the silver tray out to him, Draco took the Falconbreath and took a swig,

"Thanks." he grumbled, closing his eyes as his took another mouthful, "I need this."

It did occur to him that the waiter should have known to only offer the non-alcoholic drinks to underage students like himself, he did think at first that it might be poisoned but with a few more glasses he really didn't care what the reason was. He was drunk and all he could think was how Granger had left him again.

He supposed he'd always come second in her book.


	31. Deep Water

**A/N: Yes, I know, they're arguing again, but would they really be Dramione if they didn't? **

**Also, I wanted to update this today as a small tribute to J. K. Rowling, seeing as today is the day that Harry Potter ends. I loved this as a kid and I still love it. So here it is. I'm certainly more pleased with it than the last one.**

* * *

Chapter 31

Deep Water

She climbed up onto the docks with the help of some of the Durmstrang boys, they got her a warm dressing robe and wrapped a towel around her as Viktor pulled himself up with a grin on his face, pleased regardless that he'd only come second. She was wet and cold and scared.

Harry was still down there with Ron, the two should have come up by now, everyone else was there -well, except Fleur's sister that is.

Only God knows what's going to happen to her, the prissy Beauxbaton had barely made it though the first half of the task. It was rather pathetic actually, considering she was the only girl of the group and her own flesh and blood was down there, -not just a friend or possible boyfriend but her sister- Hermione would have thought she'd have tried harder!

Viktor came and put his arm around her, pulling her in for hug, she gave a weak smile, hoping to hide how deeply worried she was for her friends, Viktor pressed his forehead to hers, his hands cupping her face,

"They vill be fine, Her-mee-on-nee."

She looked away, not wanting to bring him down, and caught Draco glaring daggers at her.

He was wearing a black duffle coat over a navy blue polo neck jumper and black leather gloves, his blonde hair being blown off his face by a gust of wind. Crabbe standing to his left and Goyle to his right, a little ways behind him. His stormy grey-blue eyes met hers with such an intensity she found unnerving.

She turned back to the Black Lake, remembering the night of the Yule Ball; fighting with him over Viktor...dancing with him...he'd even gone as far as to say she was beautiful.

Her heart had done this odd fluttering thing before it stopped outright for a moment, she honestly wanted to kiss him right then, but that was ridiculous, they were friends, nothing else and it was hard enough begin that. Thankfully Viktor had turned up before she'd been able to do anything reckless.

She pondered what it would be like to kiss Draco, he was usually pretty forceful half the time, would he be as rough a kisser? Or would he be more gentle? She presumed it'd be passionate, Draco was that sort of person, it's what she lov- er..._liked_ about him most, his fervour for everything. Hermione felt a blush seep into her cheeks and mentally berated herself, she had to stop thinking about him like that!

Ron and Fleur's sister clambered out of the water and onto the docks, Fleur helped them up, and hugged them both, thanking him for saving her sister, but still Harry was no where to be seen, Hermione stared at the water, no longer trying to hide her concern. Where was he? He ought to have been up by now? Suddenly Harry shot out of the lake, his right hand pointed into the air and clasping his wand, Dumbledore wrapped a towel around the panting and cut up Boy-Who-Lived, Hermione ran over to him in an instant, paying no heed the headmaster's orders to give the boy a little space, she knelt down beside him,

"Harry!" she said in relief,

"Hermion- Ow!" he exclaimed at her death grip on his arm, she ignored him also,

"Are you alright? Oh, you must be freezing!" she took off her towel and draped it over his shoulders instead without even giving him a chance to respond, "Personally I think you behaved admirably."

"I finished last, Hermione."

She took his face in her hands and raised up to kiss his head, more than pleased he was alive, still holding his face she forced him to look at her.

Hermione was painfully aware of someone else watching her from the sidelines, but equally aware that Harry's eyes continued to drop from her own to her lips...worse yet, she didn't mind.

"Next to last. Fleur never got past _ze Grindylows_!" she said putting on what she thought was a pretty good French accent for the last part.

That got a smile out of him.

Hermione sat rubbing Harry's back to try and warm him up, while Dumbledore tried to silence everyone to announce the winner, the Durmstrangs were stubbornly cheering for Viktor despite it being obvious that Cedric had won. It dawned on her she'd just left Viktor as soon as she'd seen Harry.

Her head shot up and once again she saw Draco, only this time he wasn't looking at her, he was sneering at the boy in the stadium who was holding a pair of binoculars and wolf-whistling at Harry, shouting for he and herself to kiss. Draco smacked the boy on the head and stormed off, Crabbe and Goyle following him like lost puppies.

"Attention!" Dumbledore bellowed, loud enough for Hermione to have to cover her ears, his voice silencing everyone, "The winner is...Mr. Diggory!"

Cedric smiled and punched the air in victory as most of the Hogwarts students gathered around him, clapping their hands and congratulating him,

"Who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head charm." the headmaster continued, "However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue the others as well, we've agreed to award him...second place for outstanding moral fibre!"

Harry stared at Dumbledore in awe, Hermione shook him,

"Second place!" she grinned, Harry returned the smile awkwardly, clearly not sure what to do with all the attention he was receiving, for the one of the most famous wizards of all time he was rather shy.

Once back on school grounds the trio, all damp and tired, made their way up to the woods, with passing students lightly teasing Harry, patting him on the back, telling him how well he did. He thanked each and everyone of them with embarrassment.

He clutched tightly onto his towel, giving Hermione an inkling that he wished it was his Invisibility Cloak and he could just disappear. Harry really was the most reserved lad she knew. If it had been Draco that had not only gotten through two of the three tasks of the deadly Triwizard Tournament, but was also the youngest of the Champions, he'd have never stopped boasting.

Not that she didn't like Draco's confident personality, she did, she liked Harry's gawkiness as well, it was simply that the two were worlds apart.

"Blimey, Harry, even when you get it wrong it goes right." Ron exclaimed in disbelief,

Hermione laughed and tousled his hair,

"Yeah, Mr. Moral Fibre!" she joked,

"Shove off." he replied, nudging her in the ribs with a secret smile, causing her to giggle and blush slightly. Harry really was quite handsome and unwittingly charming...

That's when Draco deliberately budged into Harry, the blonde turned to face them, taking a few steps back,

"You might have made it through this one, Potter!" he snarled, "But don't worry, third time is the charm. You'll be joining you're filthy muggle mother soon enough!"

Harry dropped the towel and stormed over to him, only a few mere inches away from Draco, his fists clenched tight, his eyes dark,

"My mum was a witch, Malfoy! A great one. Just because you're parents are scum doesn't mean everyone els-"

Hermione ran over to stand between them, she turned from one boy to the other with a pointed finger. They could try and fight like they had last year if they wanted, she'd smack the pair of them if she had to this time. They were being bloody ridiculous!

"Enough!" she said to both of them, before making eye contact with the Boy-Who-Lived, "Harry, Crouch is looking for you."

The darker-haired lad gazed at her with angry green eyes, setting his jaw, he turned on his heel and headed in the direction of the tall, haggard man in a bowling hat.

Hermione spun around about to scold Draco instead she was greeted by an empty space and the blonde's figure slowly getting lost in amongst the trees. She ran after him, stumbling over a branch or two and a few rocks, she snagged her school tights on a twig and got dirt on her jumper, but in the end managed to catch up with him, she grabbed his arm and yanked him around to face her,

"_What_, Granger?" he bit out in a way that seemed all too familiar for her liking.

She frowned, biting her lip. She didn't want to fight with him, they were rowing a lot lately, first in the library, then at the Yule Ball, now this, it was like the past two years all over again,

"You're being a right foul git. I thought we had a truce?"

"Potter was never part of it." he glowered at her, she rolled her eyes, wondering if he'd ever get over his petty bloody rivalry,

"He's my friend! You can't just expect me to let y-"

"Then piss off back to him!" he snapped, "Or is Krum you're preferred today? Which one is it, Granger? Your precious Potter or the great Bulgarian bonbon you're so in love with?"

She stared at him, incredulous, unable to believe her ears. She'd never seen him so angry before, his features darkened immensely, making him look older and a bit frightening, the normally mischievous glint in his eye was murderous, he was irate, a rage that was fuelled by hatred and something else. She thought she knew what it was; coupling that odd expression with his recent behaviour made her theory all the more likely, but she really didn't want to admit it in her head or aloud.

Because she knew she'd get her hopes up only to fall face first in the dirt, and why would she want that?

"What are you getting at?"

He let out a bitter laugh so filled with hurt it caused an ache in her chest,

"Don't even try to deny it!"

"Deny what?" she asked, confused,

"That you have feelings for him. _Them!_"

Something about him was pleading with her, it was as if he were begging her to tell him otherwise, but wanting it to be the truth. It was clear he didn't like her being with Viktor, and, well, he'd never liked Harry. What she didn't understand was where this was all coming from. Again her instinct reminded her of a certain possibility, she wanted so badly to be right but also knew it would be better to be wrong, never mind easier,

"And what if I do?" her voice was hesitant, undecided.

However Draco took it as a confirmation of his conjecture and snatched up a rock from the base of the tree, he threw it into the bushes with enough force that when it hit the branch of another tree and snapped it clean off, he didn't notice the birds fly away in horror,

"What's so great about those two imbeciles anyway?" he said, indignantly,

"Why do you care, Malfoy?" she barked, bravely taking a step towards him, her own anger burying the fear she felt at his outburst, "Why would it bother you if I agree to go to the Yule Ball with a boy I like? Or if I kiss my friend moments after he nearly drowned? I _am_ just a filthy mudblood!"

He winched at the two words he'd hurled at her time and time again. Two words she was aware he hadn't said to her since their truce.

He said nothing, he simply stood there, his lips pressed into a hard line,

"Don't worry." she continued, scathingly, "I'll ask your permission before I do either of those things again!"

"You better! Because those dogs aren't good enough for you!" he yelled at her from where he stood, his chest raising and falling angrily, his glare malicious and arrogant, it was anyone's guess he thought he'd won this argument, or he hoped he had at least.

She should have known better than to say it, she should have known it wouldn't lead to anything good, but she was so desperate to understand what the hell his problem was. She needed to know why he was so blooming angry with her. She needed to know if he actually cared about her or if he was just so used to being a spoilt brat and getting his own sweet way.

"And by the way, care to tell me who, if anyone, you think _is_ good enough for me?"

He remained quiet, his face twisted with conflicting emotions. Fear and the kind of desperation that stomped out all logical reasoning.

She honestly thought that he might be doing this to spite her for all the times she'd stood up for Harry instead of him. She wouldn't put it past him. Draco was that childish.

"Oh, I don't know..." he replied in some sort of broken sneer, his voice cracking, "Me?" he stared at her for a moment then turned right around and walked off, heading for the school.

Hermione staggered back, her legs threatening to give out under her, she backed up against a tree and slit down to the muddy ground. She smiled weakly. He cared about her. More than that even, he wanted to be with her, he wasn't trying to hurt her, he was jealous. The butterflies that once resided in her stomach -with razor sharp wings that cut her up inside- were back. Only nicer this time.

She tried to shake away the thoughts and feelings welling inside her, but couldn't.

In the end she knew the truth. She loved him.

She loved Draco Malfoy.

Oh, dear Merlin!


	32. A Requiem for Cedric

**A/N: Here it is, the final chapter of Part 1! **

**I've been working on this since the 1st of November 2010, and it's now July 22rd 2011 and I'm on the 56th chapter -_Malfoy Manor_! A lot of you might not care about the dates, but to me it's an accomplishment to have written so much in only a few months. Also I will be taking a short break between now and when I post Part 2, because I have a few other stories I want to focus on. **

**So thank you to everyone who has reviewed, added me or this story as a favourite, got alerts or even just read this. You've stuck with this incredibly long story throughout and I am very, very grateful. **

**Special thanks to: _poisoned blood, Sage of Emeralds_ and _Alphinia_ for all your fantastic critism that has helped refine this story and my own writing ability. X. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 32

A Requiem For Cedric

With the memorial over Hermione made her way up to the Astronomy Tower, she didn't tell anyone where she was going, she merely told them she needed a bit of air, they couldn't really blame her. Voldemort had returned. Cedric's death was proof of that.

She could feel the fear coursing through her, Harry had killed him twice now and yet he kept coming back, she didn't understand how it was possible, doubts began to creep up on her, what if he really couldn't be killed? What if he rose to power again? This time it would be much worse, of that she was sure.

She was scared...for her parents, Harry, Draco, all of her friends and even herself. She was tired of battling monsters, tired of having to look over her shoulder everytime she was alone, tired of feeling helpless, she didn't want to lose people. Voldemort had no reason to kill Cedric other than the fact that he happened to be dragged to the graveyard with Harry. His entire life was just snatched away in an instant.

The worst part was seeing Mr. Diggory, Cedric's father, break down into angry, devastated sobs.

Harry had taken it badly as well, he become something akin to friends with the Hufflepuff seventh year. It'd been a blow to everyone, even a certain blonde haired Slytherin. He hadn't said a single nasty thing to them since Harry brought Cedric's dead body back. Admittedly she hadn't spoken to him much the past couple of weeks but he hadn't been exactly nice to her leading up to the fatal third task.

Hermione was almost thankful that she'd had too much to worry and think about recently; she really had no intention of delving further into her feelings then she'd already gone, or Draco's for that matter. Hoping something might come from this was stupid, she and he had found it hard enough to be friends, besides she wasn't certain he felt that way about her. Now that she thought about it there could be a hundred different reasons for his jealousy, if it was even jealousy that is. She wasn't going to confess just to get rejected.

She opened the door to the Astronomy Tower to find someone leading against the railing, the sunlight hit her, obscuring her vision, then as her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness she saw the platinum blonde hair, her breath caught in her throat and for a moment she considered slipping back outside, she hadn't been looking forward to another confrontation with him. Hermione didn't think she would be able to deal with his enmity crap today.

"You're not even gonna say 'hi'?" he said as she began to close the door, his voice filled with fatigue and something else...pain, she bit her lip and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her, she crossed the distance between them. He turned to face her, his expression unreadable, he was shutting her out again,

"I wasn't sure you'd want me here." she admitted.

He scoffed, giving the faintest of smiles,

"I wouldn't exactly ask you to leave." he turned away and added as an afterthought, "At least not here. I don't think I'd have the right, seeing as this is our place."

Hermione smiled, suddenly finding the chipped black paint of the iron railing highly intriguing,

"_Our_ place?"

Without taking her eyes of the worn metal barrier she could tell he was staring at her, it was odd, him searching her face for something, it was usually the other way around,

"Well, yeah, I've always thought of it like that."

She remained quiet, unsure of what to say, she liked it though, the thought that this place meant so much to him he considered it theirs, staring out at the mid morning sky, she realised he was right, all the time they'd spent here together, the long conversations that either turned into fits of elated laughter or massive arguments. Who was to say it wasn't theirs? It was their own personal wonderland, or it had been a while ago,

"I haven't come up here since..." she trailed off, not wanting to go into that, "I've avoided it like the plague."

The truth was that after their massive fight the beginning of second year, she couldn't handle the thought of coming back to the place that would remind her solely of the boy who, back then, she was convinced hated her. Now she wasn't certain what he thought of her, she couldn't decide whether it was better or worse than the alternative,

"I know."

"What?" Hermione turned to face him, pondering how on earth he could have known, it was his turn to look away,

"I came up here all the time, at first I figured you'd be here and I'd get a chance to apologise but you never turned up. I liked it here, though. Reminded me how good I had it first term, I suppose."

She took his hand, caressing his knuckles with her slender fingers, praying he'd understand that if she'd known earlier she'd have...well, it didn't matter, regardless of the things he'd done or said she'd always forgive him,

"Did you know him? Diggory, I mean?"

Hermione shook her head, hand still folded in his,

"Not really."

"You think Potter's telling the truth? Do you think He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back?"

For a second she thought she could see concern etched onto his face but he quickly pulled the mask down, smoothing out his features until he resembled a perfectly sculptured statue, until all trace of human emotion had vanished, but she was learning to read between the lines, he would never have put so much effort into covering up if he was simply worried, it ran deeper than that, whatever the reason, whether it was the return of Voldemort or something else entirely, Draco was undoubtably terrified,

"Harry wouldn't lie about this sort of thing. Besides who else would have killed Cedric? Voldemort's back. The question is; what do we do about it?" she said, meaning 'we' as in her, Harry and Ron.

It was almost like a job to them now, defeat whatever monster was lurking around and purge the school of evil and consequently, more often than not, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Turned out this year the professor was really a Death Eater using a Polyjuice Potion to pose as Mad Eye, while the real Moody was locked in a cellar. Charming, wasn't it?

Draco picked up on the subtle implication and the mask quickly dissolved into one of anger,

"Why should you have to do anything?" he demanded to know, tightening his grip on her hand, "Someone died this time, Hermione! What is it going to take for you to realise that what you're doing is dangerous?"

Her eyes were wide, she couldn't think, the words that left his mouth were nothing but a blur, distorted, muddled, foreign, all she heard was her name. Her_ first_ name. How it sounded lovely with his gruff voice. It was the only time he'd ever called her that. Suddenly it hit her that he was scared for her too,

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be careful." she said, conveniently forgetting to tell him she had no intention of just pretending like everything was alright, if push came to shove next year and Voldemort started another war then she would fight, no doubt about it,

"Just let the Ministry handle it. I don't want to have you go and get yourself killed."

She smiled at him reassuringly,

"Alright."

Hermione let go of his hand to rest her own on his shoulder, using it to steady herself as she reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, the moment her lips met his skin she felt complete, like this was how it was meant to be, her heart pounding happily, it felt so right.

She stared into his eyes, so close now she could pick out the tiny flecks of green amongst the greyish blue, she could see just how long his pale lashes were, she could see every infinitesimal line of his smooth, flawless skin. He stared straight back at her, her lips only a few inches from his, she was about to move away entirely when his mouth suddenly came crashing down on hers.

She had been right on both accounts, he was gentle and passionate and...a tad clumsy, at first she was anxious she wouldn't be good enough but as it turned out he had as little experience as she did, something she hadn't fully expected, he relaxed into the kiss before she did though, and if the way his hands wound themselves in her hair was anything to go by he was enjoying himself -despite her complete lack of knowledge in this particular arena. Fingers knotted in her hair, he pulled her closer towards him, causing her to lurch forward a little, she felt him grin and couldn't help but do the same, it was as they were kissing, that she felt the impact of just how much she'd wanted this and for how long.

They broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment, both trying to regain their breath, out of the nowhere he pulled her in for an unexpected hug, fiercely wrapping his arms around her,

"Promise you'll stay out of it next time." he said, a desperate commanding edge to his tone.

She nodded into his chest, his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her back slightly,

"Say it."

She looked away, took a deep breath and turned back to face him,

"Fine. I promise, alright?"

He said nothing, did nothing, but gazed at her with an irrefutable scepticism. He didn't believe her, and why would he? The last time she'd told him not to worry was in first year and she'd landed herself in hospital for a whole three days afterwards, and not forgetting when happened with the basilisk or how cut up she was last year. Every single time she'd gotten hurt and every single time she'd acted like it was nothing. They both knew that her damn Gryffindor bravery wouldn't let her be the coward for even one day.

She sighed,

"You're not going to make me take an Unbreakable Vow, are you?"

"Mione, are you up her-"

The pair turned to see Harry standing there with a gobsmacked, suspicious and irritated expression,

"What's going on?" he asked, voice bewildered but sharp.

She looked up at the blonde haired lad still holding her in a death vice, his eyes widened, his face one of panic as if he were a man who'd only moments ago been possessed and had now been forced to witness the horror of what he'd done while out of it,

"I need to get out of here!" he whispered to no-one in particular, "I need to get out of here!" with that he unfastened his tie as though it had been choking him and ran for the door.

He didn't even bother to push past Harry.

The Boy-Who-Lived caught the Slytherin's arm, his grip so tight his knuckles had paled,

"What did you do?" he hissed, menacingly.

Draco stared at him in shock, before wrestling out of his grip, he staggered back a couple of steps,

"Don't touch me, Potter." he mumbled weakly, and slipped out the door in haste.

Hermione flinched when the door slammed behind him, she stood there without moving, simply staring at the space where Draco had just been, where he'd kissed her.

Harry's angry, suspicious gaze turned to her then,

"You gonna tell me what that was?" he asked, though it sounded more like a demand, his temper was still rising,

"I don't know." she confessed, dumbly, Hermione touched her mouth, wanting to remember the feel of his lips on hers, her cold fingers were a poor substitute though, "We kiss-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Hermione!" he ground out.

She shook her head, glancing back at the closed door through which Draco had vanished, she wondered what he was doing, what he was thinking...He'd been perfectly fine before Harry turned up, so why had he run off? Was he still ashamed to be seen with her? She'd thought after the Yule Ball he'd be over that. Was he messing her about?

Hermione gave him a tired look,

"We kissed, Harry."

He was quiet for a moment, and Hermione thought that perhaps he had accepted it.

She was very wrong.

Harry kicked a nearby telescope stand, it fell to the ground with one heavy_ thud_ after another,

"Why the hell would you do that?" he exploded, "Need I remind you it's _Malfoy_! The prejudiced git who hates our guts...th-the great big b-bloody ferret!" he stammered with rage, "The one who calls you mudblood all the time and who hit me last term and wh-"

Hermione rolled her eyes,

"Yes, Harry, I know who he is."

"Then why the hell did you snog the annoying sod?" he shouted, he laughed a little, eyes shining with vehemence, "Well, you don't _really_ think he car-"

"For God's sake, Harry, I don't know!" she went to sit on the ornamental chest that held numerous magical telescopes, her head in her hands. She sucked in a calming breath and blew it back out, "He's my friend." she said, coolly,

"What?"

She glanced up at him, a little afraid of his reaction to the news,

"Draco and I have been friends since first year..."

Hermione saw the realisation and understanding on his face, quickly followed by hurt. Her stomach sank, eyes filling with tears, she didn't want to hurt him,

"We met on the train like everyone else." she said, tearfully, staring at him, watching him take it all in, "I thought you'd have figured it out by now." she admitted and Harry rose his brows, "Don't you remember that first Herbology lesson? And when I told you about the restricted section? Did you honestly think that was all me? We wrote letters to each other over the summer, and at the Yule Ball he asked me to dan-"

Harry didn't say a word, his silence broke something inside her, he turned around and began to leave, she ran after him,

"Please, Harry, let me explain!" she clutched onto his robes and pulled him back, though he was facing her, his green orbs were focused elsewhere, "He found out I was a muggle-born and he still wanted to be my friend! H-Harry," she sniffled, "he just acts like a git so we can be together."

It was his turn to shake his head, completely disgusted by this revelation, suddenly his eyes found her and they were harder and colder than she'd ever seen them,

"He wished you dead, Hermione."

Her grip loosened without her knowing, her feet carried her backwards without her telling them to, she tried to catch her breath but her lungs denied her,

"What are you talking about?" she said, quietly,

"Second term when we Polyjuiced as Crabbe and Goyle. You turned yourself into a cat, remember? You didn't want to come out the toilets. We asked him about the monster and he told us he wanted you to be next."

She felt ill. Her head was reeling. Why would he say such a thing?

"So don't you ever think that he gives two sickles about you, because I can tell you now that he doesn't."

And with that Harry walked off.

Hermione sank back onto her makeshift seat and succumbed to sobs.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Coming in Part 2: **

"_Heard Loony found someone else. Longbottom if I recall correctly." he drawled maliciously, he remembered witnessing the Ravenclaw ask the lanky, whimpy lad to Hogsmeade, "Must be tough, eh, Potter? Having to find another girl mad enough to take you on." _

_Draco watched as Granger snatched her hand away from Potter's, shifting her weight uncomfortably, she glanced around, avoiding the blonde Slytherin,_

"_Actually Malfoy," Potty replied, taking her hand once again, "I already have a new girlfriend..."_


	33. Author's Note

**Hey, sorry guys forgot to post a notice on here.**

**So the first chapter of Part 2 is now up, next chapter won't be around the 4th of October or so, cause I'm going away and won't be bringing my computer. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**And thanks so much to everyone.**


End file.
